Grading
Academic grading broken down as follows:
10% quizzes (vocab, lit, and grammar)
30% exams (periodic lit exams, and two grammar finals)
40% papers (essays and independent study project)
10% class work (study guides, etc.)
10% listening and speaking
Grading Standards (aligned with CHS English Department):*
99-100 = A+
92-98.99 = A
90-91.99 = A-
88-89.99 = B+
82-87.99 = B
80-81.99 = B-
78-79.99 = C+
72-77.99 = C
70-71.99 = C-
68-69.99 = D+
62-67.99 = D
60-61.99 = D-
below 60 = F
*as per English department standards, grades do not round up.
Ground Rules:
Late work: For everything except essays, late work will be accepted one day late only, for 50%. For example, if you were absent on a Tuesday, your work would be due on the Wednesday (even if you wouldn't be back in class until Thursday). For work assigned before an excused absence, work is due the day student returns to class. For work assigned during an excused absence, students have the number of days absent plus one day to get the make-up work in. For late work submitted electronically, students must email me and let me know which assignment was turned in and for which period, otherwise the work will not be entered into the student’s grade because I wont see it. Work assigned before a student's excused absence is due the day the student returns to class (for hard copy assignments and electronic submissions) but emailing me is still required to earn credit for the assignment, and that email must be sent on the day you submit the assignment late. Work not turned in due to unexcused absences is not accepted. Please know that family trips, club sports tournaments or showcases, being stranded at an airport (or anywhere else), having car problems, etc. are NOT excused absences. Please view the district handout for the full list of what is and isn’t excused.
Late work essays: Because they are such an important part of your grade, essays will be accepted late at any time in the semester before the last two weeks of class, but the grade will be reduced one full grade per day late until the 59% F is reached if the essay meets the requirements of the paper (if not, no points will be given), and late work will not receive comments or a rubric, just a grade. For the first essay only, students earning less than a B may do one rewrite in attempt to bring to a B. For all subsequent essays, students earning a D or and F may rewrite in attempt to bring it up to a C. For work assigned before an absence, work is due the day student returns to class. You may NOT use AI to help you write your paper unless an AI assignment is given by the teacher. Using AI will be considered plagiarism.
Essay expectations: Essays that make no effort to use MLA style will not be passing papers, and essays with weak efforts at MLA style will only be able to earn a C. Essays that utilize first or second person will not be able to earn above a C. Essays with no effort to integrate quotes will not pass. Essays with integration using any form of he said/she said will only earn a C. Using contractions will earn only a C.
Quizzes or exams missed: Exams must be taken the day the student returns to class; quizzes must be made up at a support within a week of the missed quiz, and it is the student's responsibility to ask for the quiz, not the teacher's responsibility to track the student down.
Plagiarism/academic honesty: work that is plagiarized will not be accepted for credit, and a note will be placed in the student's academic record. No make-up opportunities will be offered for plagiarized work or for an assignment on which there has been cheating. For assignments plagiarized from another student, both students will receive a zero on the assignment and the note in their record—for this reason, students should NEVER share/show their work to a fellow student to give them an “example.” If a student needs help and an example, the appropriate way is either to find an online example or to ask the teacher. In my 24 years+ experience, a student who asks a fellow student to see their paper ALWAYS plans to copy all or a portion of the paper. Students must protect themselves by politely refusing and suggesting other more appropriate resources.
It is the student's job to check the web page daily for work, assignments, and due dates. Checking only google
classroom will not be sufficient, as only electronically submitted work will be visible there, not reading, viewing, or study sync assignments.