Cobb County Schools Grading Scale
90-100=A 80-89=B 74-79=C 70-73=D 69 and below=F
Grading
As we begin a new semester, we want you to be aware of a new grading procedure that will be in effect for your student’s Physics class. As a county we are moving towards standards based reporting. You may already be aware of this if you have younger children in the school system. The following is an overview taken from the Cobb County website explaining standards based reporting.
What is standards-based reporting?
As a component of educational reform, many states have developed and adopted curriculum frameworks. These frameworks define course learning standards --what students should know and be able to do. As a result, many districts are moving to a standards-based method of reporting student achievement. A standards-based reporting system reflects progress by specific learning standards. In a standards-based system, a clear distinction is made between academic achievement and learning skills (effort and behavior). Grading practices are revised to improve and support effective teaching and learning. Required procedures for grading are defined, used consistently and explained clearly to students and parents at the beginning of a semester or school year, or when grading procedures change.
Why is CCSD implementing standards-based reporting?
The revised state curriculum, the Georgia Performance Standards, has moved the student achievement “bar” higher for all students. Graduation requirements have increased to better prepare students to enter post-secondary opportunities including colleges and universities, technical schools, and the work force. As a result, Cobb’s curriculum has been ramped up to provide all students across the district common, rigorous expectations for learning. In the past, typical grade categories included class work/homework, quizzes, labs, project, and tests. This does not give detailed information about your student’s level of proficiency in specific content areas. In response, the Hillgrove and the Wheeler physics team has re-organized the course in order to better correlate your student's performance with the Physics Standards, which have always been taught. In implementing the Standards Based Reporting we are putting more focus on formative assessments in smaller 5 day cycles consisting of student-centered learning activities, teacher-centered presentations, and physics labs; each cycle will be culminating with a remediation/enrichment period followed by a summative assessment for those 5 days. Within Pinnacle you will see each Standard listed instead of assignment categories as in the past. Occasionally students may be assigned projects. The projects will fall under only one of the categories and will be entered accordingly into Pinnacle. The final exam will still have a traditional format.
Now, on to the daily organization of the course. Each "chunk" will last five days.
Day 1 (except the first Day 1) will begin with a review of the previous chunk's summative assessment. If after this review as a class any individual work is needed or desired you may set an appointment to meet with your teacher before after school. Your teacher may require some extra remediation if you are unable to pass the summative assessment. The remaining two sessions on Day 1 one will involve an introduction to the new chunk of material to be covered. This may be teacher lecture, powerpoint presentation, demonstrations, a short inquiry activity. etc. Day 1 will conclude with a formative summarizing activity which to be completed prior to Day 2...your teacher will determine whether this is to be done in class or at home.
Day 2 and 3 are set aside for lab/activity based instruction. These days will allow for one big content based lab or multiple content focused activities to be performed along with instruction based on the results and observations of the students. This instruction may be on a group by group basis or as a whole class discussion. Each lab will allow you to truly scientifically discover, explore, and analyze some basic and important concepts of the concepts presented on Day 1. The labs will also help you learn and apply scientific skills such as: computer assisted data collection, graphing, making scientific measurements and calculations, as well as working in groups so that all benefit. Each lab is designed such that you should not need to work on it outside of class, the idea is to work as a group and successfully complete the labs within the given time. You are expected to work equally on all parts of the labs and activities. You will have your own data /observations as well as any required analysis. Your teacher will be approving your individual work at different points of the lab. You may be assigned homework on Day 2 and Day 3. This work will be part of the lab based instruction and will be formative in nature. It may or may not be recorded as a grade. An example would be to solve some mathematical problems based on the concepts being studied in the labs. At the end of Day 3 you will turn in all of your work from the lab and activities and will complete a short Lab Formative Assessment. The results of the assessment will be used to guide your teacher's final instruction for the current chunk on Day 4.
Day 4's first two sessions will consist of content instruction. The details of this instruction will be focused according to the overall performance/progress of the class during the first three days of the chunk. The final session will be the 12Q formative assessment for the chunk. The 12Q will consist of 12 questions which are representative of the topics assessed on the summative assessment on Day 5. This 12Q will be graded in class by you the students, using the teacher’s key. You will keep the questions to help you prepare for 20Q summative assessment. The results of this formative assessment will be used to provide topic appropriate remediation or extension you need to further your understanding of the concepts presented. The 12Q will not be recorded as a grade but be sure to do your best so that you can be working on something useful on Day 5, we do not want to waste your time. You should definitely study for the 20Q on Day 5...a review sheet will be provided.
Day 5 is remediation, extension, and a summative assessment. You will have an activity to complete, either remediation or extension, based on your performance on the 12Q. The activity completed on Day 5 will be recorded for a grade. During the final session on Day 5 you will take the 20Q summative assessment which will be recorded as a grade. Following the 20Q you will be provided an Objectives Sheet for the next chunk so you can begin working on the next topics.
The ultimate goal of science is to develop an understanding of the natural universe which is free of biases.
Scientific investigators control the conditions of their experiments in order to produce valuable science data.
Science disciplines and traditions differ from one another in what is studied, techniques used, and outcomes sought.
Chunk stuff:
You will be provided with a list of objectives, review sheet for the 20Q, and worksheets which are a collection of conceptual questions, math problems, charts/tables, and graphs which are designed to assist you in gaining a complete understanding of the content. All work related to the worksheets should usually be done on your own paper so that you are not constrained by any arbitrary amount of space you may have been given on the worksheet. It needs to be stressed here that any individual work you are assigned will be related to the content just presented as well as content to be discussed next. This work is designed to reinforce what have just learned as well as to help you be focused on for the upcoming content. The idea is that you come into class each day knowing what is expected so that you can be an intelligent participant in the day's activities and discussions. This means you will need to use all of your resources to help you complete your work. The daily correct completion of your work will contribute to your engagement and understanding of the concepts as they are further discussed in class. Now, here will be an opportunity for you to choose your attitude. You have two options:(1)"my teacher may not be checking all of my work each day so I don't have to bother and I'll just write it all down in class and figure it out later," or (2) "I will attempt to complete all the homework to the best of my understanding using my resources so I can participate in the class. This way I will not have to rely on other students to ask the questions I need to ask in order to fully understand the concepts." Please understand that the class time in this course is intended to allow you to get the clarification you need to understand each concept, not just memorize the definitions and equations involved. In order for this to work you need to be prepared each day according to your teacher's direction, whether it is "graded" or not.
The Grading system for the course-
Each chunk will be a total of 5.5% of your total grade the final will be 12%. There will be 16 chunks, that makes up 88% of the class for a total of 100%. The chunks will consist of a formative section and a summative section. The formative section will include class work, homework, formative quizzes, and labs. The summative will the test for each chunk. The formative for each chunk will be worth 3% and the summative for each chunk will be worth 2.5%.
The Final Exam
u Multiple choice + 1-5 drill/performance; usually about 70 - 80 questions.
u Detailed cumulative of entire semester.
u You should keep all Unit Guides, materials, and corrected tests from the semester to help you prepare for the final. You will be provided a Final Exam review sheet.
Classroom preparation: Bring with you each day your book, notebook, planner, paper and either a blue or black pen, or a pencil to write with.
Notebook: A three-ring binder should be used to keep up with notes, class work, lab, and homework. There will be notebook checks based on organization and content.
Projects: We will have major projects this semester. Due dates will be discussed later. Cheating: The copying of another students work will result in a zero for that activity and a referral to the administration will be required to record the incident.
Internet: There will be times that the internet will be required to do some activities. Inappropriate use of the internet at school will result in a zero for the activity and you may not be allowed to use the internet at school. The inappropriate use of any technology will not be tolerated.
Lab Activities: It is very important that you follow all safety procedures that you learn in class. Please use the lab equipment carefully so that everyone gets to use it. Unsafe and/or willfully behavior will result in a zero for the lab, a call home and a possible administrative referral. Lab experiments that are missed due to an excused absence must be made up according to school guidelines before school. Scheduling a makeup time is your responsibility.
Make-up work: One day for each day absent, plus one additional day will be given to complete any work missed due to an excused absence. If I have assigned you homework or an assignment before you were absent, and your absence falls on the day when that assignment was due, it will be due the day you return. Late work will not be accepted and will result in a grade of zero for that assignment. Obtaining missed assignments is your responsibility. All unexcused absences will receive a zero for any assignment missed.
Course Content
We will explore and discuss the way the universe at this moment is understood