Letter to WHS Students and Families on Grading
The following message was sent out to WHS students and families on 9/27/22
Dear WHS families,
As many of you have already heard, Weston High School and Weston Middle School are piloting two of standards-based grading practices this year. Dr. Carter presented this pilot and its two focuses to the School Committee on 9/20, click here for slides. The two standards based grading practices we are piloting this year are:
- Using calibrated 0-4 grading scales instead of 0-100, using the same point range for every letter grade
- Allowing students who are not yet proficient in an essential skill or understanding to retake all or part of a summative assessment without penalty
In addition, some concern has centered on homework as part of the overall grade. In our move toward standards-based grading, some teachers had begun adopting grading guidelines that do not count homework as part of the overall grade. That standards-based grading practice is supported by many educational experts.
However, as a district, not counting homework as part of a student’s grade is a step that we are not ready to take. We are expecting all teachers to count homework as a small part of a student’s overall grade, just as we have done in the past. Our teachers will continue to assign and assess homework in accordance with our district’s homework guidelines. Please understand that some teachers and teacher teams will need some time to adjust and calibrate to these grading practices.
If you would like to learn more about grading scales, retakes, and homework, please join us for a parent forum on Friday September 30th, 9:00 a.m., in the High School Auditorium. We will be livestreaming the forum for those who cannot attend in person, and a link to that will be posted later this week. We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Dr. Midge Connolly, Superintendent
Dr. Kimo Carter, Asst. Superintendent for Teaching & Learning
Paul Peri, High School Principal
