Hello students!
Here is a quick post regarding how grading is going to work for 4th quarter (second semester).
WHAT THE DISTRICT SAID:
You, the student, may select from either “PASS /Incomplete” or “A to D / Incomplete” for your semester grade in each class.
WHERE IS YOUR GRADE NOW?
All of my students (except one who has been emailed separately) have passed my classes. So if you select “PASS/Incomplete”, your grade is guaranteed to be a “Pass” for the semester. Period. Except for that one student.
If you select “A to D / Incomplete” your grade is “locked in” as your 3rd quarter grade. If you had an “A” for your 3rd Quarter grade, you grade is guaranteed to be an “A” for the semester. Period. If your grade was a “B” through “F” (Incomplete) for the third quarter grade, you may ONLY move up. So you have the opportunity (but no guarantee) to move up if you are willing to do the work.
4th quarter grades CAN drop and they CAN be lower than 3rd quarter grades. This is to be expected, and aligns with this new rule. In an email from the district, this was clearly spelled out to teachers:
HOW CAN AN “A to D / Incomplete” GRADE MOVE UP?
To move up, you would have to do all of the required work assigned during fourth quarter, and get enough points to move your grade UP to the next letter grade. Assignments given will be different depending on the class (see below).
At the end of the school year, when assigning final grades, I will do the following. I will look at your third quarter grade, and your 4th quarter grade, and you will receive the higher letter grade of the two for your final SEMESTER grade. This will apply to all students in all classes. After that point (by June 19th using THIS FORM provided by the district), select your option of “Pass / Incomplete” or “A-D / Incomplete” for each class individually. Your selection will be applied by the district after school is out. I am not involved in the process of applying “Pass / Incomplete” grades. I only assign letter grades based on work completed in class.
4TH QUARTER ASSIGNMENTS BY COURSE:
(1) AP COMP SCI: There will be not be an extra credit assignment this semester. This is because the original extra credit assignment was based on us having 5 normal / secure quizzes taken in the classroom. We have only taken two quizzes so far this semester, and there is no way to take quizzes with 100% security outside of the classroom.
After the AP Exam on Friday May 15th, I am considering two multiple choice and/or FRQ quizzes for interested students. Those quizzes would use the LockDown Browser (required) combined with Zoom video (required) using the AP classroom website. More on this once the AP exam is complete. These possible AP classroom quizzes would be the main opportunity for letter grade students to “move up”, and I am making no guarantee that participation in these quizzes guarantees a grade change. There will be no semester final.
(2) MOBILE GAME: Certification will remain optional. I will most likely assign a game project to be completed in Unity for those interested in possibly “moving up” their grades. This will be separate from the recently completed Create With Code game project. This will not be assigned until early to mid May. There will be no semester final.
(3) ANIMATION PROJECTS: Sketchup Assignment 12 (Amazon object) and Assignment 13 (House) will continue. We will also do Assignment 16 (a final “short film” project) in Adobe Animate after the House assignment is done. There will be no semester final.
NOTE: Based on the way the PYLUSD COVID-19 grading system works, all of the assignments mentioned above are optional for students selecting “Pass / Incomplete” who have already passed. All of the assignments mentioned above are optional for students who select “A-D / Incomplete” and are already satisfied with their grade, for example “A” and “B” students might already be satisfied with their grade.