Grading Information for Students and Parents

Students in Academy English are required to perform in several areas of instruction- namely, Accelerated Reading, Daily Participations and Preparation, Projects and Portfolio, and Tests and Quizzes. Students must receive adequate markings in all areas in order to succeed in English, and they must do so in a timely fashion as I do not accept late work except in very specifically defined circumstances.

Accelerated Reading requires that students read books that are at an academic level that challenges their abilities without overwhelming them. They should read for at least twenty minutes every night and, upon finishing a book, they need to take a multiple choice test based on the book they’ve just completed. Accelerated Reading is a pass/fail grade worth 20% of the final grade in English.

Participation and preparation is marked daily- students must come to class with all of their class materials, including writing utensils, paper, class texts, and project materials for anything they are currently working on. They must also always have an AR book, and this may be subject to periodic spot checking. Students are expected to engage in class discussions constructively and to limit their disruptive behavior. Most daily assignments and homework assignments fall under the auspices of this category and are graded on a completed/not completed/not attempted basis.

Projects and Portfolio consists of two major sections- the weekly Criterion essays and the group projects that students are expected to complete based on class texts. Criterion essays are completed online and may be worked on as homework if necessary. Students are expected to complete two essays per week and to get a grade of four out of six or better on each of them. Due to a variety of technical difficulties, some of the early essays were difficult to complete; as a result, I am allowing students to work on them and hand them in as late as September 25. Projects are creative tasks designed to demonstrate and clarify student understanding of the themes and events of the texts they’ve read in class.

Tests and quizzes make up the final segment of the grade. Tests may be given in a variety of ways, including but not limited to essay tests, multiple choice tests, fill-in-the-blank exams, and even puzzles.

English blogging 2009

Obviously, I am not as diligent in maintaining this blog as I might like...

Here are some things that students and parents of my students ought to be aware of:

1) Widgets on the left- some are just for fun (Word of the day, thought of the day), but some are actually valuable tools (search wiki and search dictionary.com). Check periodically to see if I've updated them and use them as you see fit.

2) The links- Also on the left. Students should pay special attention to the links to My Skills Tutor and Criterion writing software. If at all possible, students should spend at least 1/2 hour per day working in each program outside of school- this is homework and will be graded as such.

3) AR Reading- Once again, we are attempting to impress upon students the value of continuously reading, both for pleasure and to meet goals. AR goals have been set and students should be aware of their ZPDs. A student who fails to meet his AR goal by the end of a semester will have his first block grade reduced by 10%. Additionally, students who fail to meet their goal during the semester that they have English will lose 20% off of their English grade.