In June of 2016, the Norwalk Board of Education approved a grading philosophy and common K-12 grading practices for all students to ensure fair and equitable practices across the district.
Norwalk K-12 Grading Philosophy
The primary purpose of grading in the Norwalk Community School District is to communicate information about student achievement to students, parents, and others.
Additional purposes of grading include:
- To provide evidence of individual student progress toward our district academic standards
- To provide opportunities for students to self-assess, reflect and set goals
- To provide parents accurate and meaningful evidence of student growth and learning
Norwalk K-12 Grading Principles
- Both teachers and students are involved in the grading process. Teachers communicate and provide feedback about clear learning targets to students as a regular part of instruction. Students have regular opportunities self-assess, reflect, and set goals around their achievement status.
- Independent practice assignments (in-class and homework) and assessments will be meaningful, purposeful and aligned to grade level/course standards and learning targets.
- Students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of grade level/course standards in a variety of ways both formally and informally.
- Learning occurs at different rates and in different ways for individual students. Students will be given multiple opportunities to practice key skills before they are assessed and graded. Students will also be given multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of grade-level/course standards following instruction and formative assessment.
- Teachers may require evidence of re-learning before students are able to retake/redo a summative assessment.
- Behaviors that contribute to academic success are critical components of college and career readiness. Student behaviors will be reported separately from the academic grade. Teachers and students will use behavior rubrics as a feedback tool to self-assess, set goals, and monitor and share progress.
- Practices that distort the accuracy of an achievement grade are not acceptable.