Published On: April 28th, 2020By Valonia Walker, APR

NEW Grading Policy Information For High School Students

Aldine ISD Grading Policy 4th Nine-Weeks

April 14, 2020 to May 28, 2020

*Please contact your child’s principal, counselor or teacher if you have any questions.

The following updates only apply to Aldine High School, Avalos P-TECH School, Hall Education Center, Nimitz High School, and Victory Early College High School students.

Updated Grading Policy Information:

For students that attend Aldine High School, Hall Education Center and Nimitz High School:

Students enrolled in quarter (9-week) stand-alone credit courses, please note the term stands alone and the grades earned don’t average because the 9-weeks term is equivalent to a semester.
Students are required to submit 10 assignments which will be averaged together.
If the grade is above 70 percent, the course credit will be awarded.

For students at Avalos P-TECH School and Victory Early College High School:

Teachers will continue to maintain all S2 assignments in their grade book.
There will be five assignments (3 major and 2 daily) entered into the grade book, for the date range for which At-Home Learning is occurring.
The final semester grade will be the higher of the completed Semester grading including the five At-Home Learning assignments OR the March 6, 2020 progress grade.
In no way will the At-Home Learning assignments negatively impact a student’s grade.
For dual credit courses, the grade earned for the college course will count as the grade earned for the high school course.

Please review additional 4th-nine weeks grading policy information for all Aldine ISD students below.

Pre-K Students
Grades Pre-K: Grades will not be recorded for the 4th nine weeks. Teachers will engage students in reading, math and other content areas using the Schoology At-Home Learning site.

Pre-K Students

Grades Pre-K:

Grades will not be recorded for the 4th nine weeks.
Teachers will engage students in reading, math and other content areas using the Schoology At-Home Learning site.

Kindergarten & Elementary Students (Grades K-5)
Grades K-5: Grades will not be recorded for the 4th nine weeks. Teachers will focus on providing mastery learning activities and providing feedback to students through Schoology. The yearly average will be based on the average of the first three nine-week grading periods.

Kindergarten & Elementary Students (Grades K-5)

Grades K-5:

Grades will not be recorded for the 4th nine weeks.
Teachers will focus on providing mastery learning activities and providing feedback to students through Schoology.
The yearly average will be based on the average of the first three nine-week grading periods.

Middle School Students (Grades 6-8)
Students will receive no more than five assignments per course that will count toward the 4th nine-weeks grade. These will all be formative grades, with all graded assignments equally weighted within the course. Students will have the opportunity to raise their year course average through their 4th nine-week grades. Grades in the 4th nine-weeks will not negatively impact student averages. There will be no final exams this semester.

Middle School Students (Grades 6-8)

Students will receive no more than five assignments per course that will count toward the 4th nine-weeks grade.
These will all be formative grades, with all graded assignments equally weighted within the course.
Students will have the opportunity to raise their year course average through their 4th nine-week grades.
Grades in the 4th nine-weeks will not negatively impact student averages.
There will be no final exams this semester.

High School Students (Grades 9-12)
Students will receive no more than five assignments per course that will count toward the 4th nine-weeks grade. These will all be formative grades, with all graded assignments equally weighted within the course. For 9th-11th graders: Students will have the opportunity to raise their semester course average and GPA through their 4th nine-week grades. Grades in the 4th nine-weeks will not negatively impact student averages/GPA. The spring semester average will be determined by the 3rd nine-week grade and the *higher* of the 3rd or 4th nine-week grade. For 12th graders, the GPA and rank have been calculated based on the end of the 2nd 9 weeks. There will be no final exams this semester.

High School Students (Grades 9-12)

Students will receive no more than five assignments per course that will count toward the 4th nine-weeks grade.
These will all be formative grades, with all graded assignments equally weighted within the course.
For 9th-11th graders:
- Students will have the opportunity to raise their semester course average and GPA through their 4th nine-week grades.
- Grades in the 4th nine-weeks will not negatively impact student averages/GPA.
- The spring semester average will be determined by the 3rd nine-week grade and the higher of the 3rd or 4th nine-week grade.
For 12th graders, the GPA and rank have been calculated based on the end of the 2nd 9 weeks.
There will be no final exams this semester.

Frequently Asked Questions

How will the 4th nine-week grade affect my semester grade?

For secondary students, the final grade will be used to measure learning. If the final grade is higher than the grade you received for the third nine-week grading period it can improve your final grades for the year.

Did Aldine ISD consider a Pass/Fail option for grades?

District leaders thoroughly considered all options. Recording numerical grades for secondary students was determined to be best for our students because:.

Pass/Fail does not provide all students with the opportunity to raise their overall semester average/GPA by being engaged in their learning this 4th nine-week grading period.
The NCAA Clearinghouse treats a grade of “Pass” as the lowest possible passing grade. This could put Aldine ISD students who are interested in collegiate athletics at a disadvantage compared to students coming from districts that recorded numerical grades.

Will students complete STAAR and End-of-Course (EOC) tests?

Grades 3-8 STAAR and EOCs will not be given this spring or summer. Normally, passing an EOC test is a graduation requirement. However this school year only, students currently enrolled in EOC-tested courses (English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology, and U.S. History) will not have to complete their corresponding EOC test provided they earn course credit during the 2019-2020 school year.

If your student is a senior and has not passed all EOCs and/or earned credits for graduation, your campus counselor will be contacting you regarding the Individual Graduation Committee (IGC) process.

What will the grading practices be in Dual Credit or OnRamps courses?

Students enrolled in Lone Star College Dual Credit or UT OnRamps courses will be affected by the colleges’ decisions.

Our thoughts are with the students and families of Aldine ISD during this difficult time. Please reach out to your child’s principal, counselor or teachers as needed.