Glasgow Middle School

Academics One-Pager 2021-2022

 

At Glasgow, we have a consistent approach to academics and grading across all of our content areas and grade levels. This one-pager includes detailed information about assessments and grading and what you can expect in your child’s classes this year.

 

Positive Behavior Support: As a community of students and staff at Glasgow Middle School, we support student safety and learning. We prize kindness, commitment, and safety in our school; students and staff will regularly engage in discussions and activities to promote these central tenets throughout the year.

 

Homework: Homework is assigned in order to reinforce material presented in class. Assignments are limited in length and time it takes students to complete. Homework will count for 10% of students’ grades.

 

Assessment: We believe that students should be given every opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned. Students will be provided several ways to demonstrate what they have learned.

• Formative assessments: Classroom tasks and quizzes serve as formative assessments for learning. Students receive credit for attempting and completing these assignments. Such assessments count for 10% of a student's interim and quarterly grade and must be submitted by the date of the summative exam on a completed study unit.
•  Summative assessments: Summative assessments help students judge their academic progress toward state standards and MYP aims and objectives. Unless otherwise noted on the syllabus, Google classroom, or Blackboard, students may be eligible to retake a summative assessment to demonstrate progress towards mastery of the objectives.
• Honor Code: FCPS has issued guidelines regarding cheating and plagiarizing in the Students Rights and Responsibilities Booklet . Specific student responsibilities in upholding this Honor Code can be found on the FCPS website: https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-and-reporting/secondary/honor-code. FCPS makes clear that students who violate “the spirit or the letter of the law” as regards to cheating and plagiarizing must accept responsibility for their actions and the accompanying consequences.

 

Retake Policy:  Glasgow Middle School’s retake policy is based on the new FCPS Grading and Reporting Policies and the IBMYP philosophy of supporting students’ continuous work towards mastery. Any student who does not completely master a standard (score of 8 on a summative assessment) will be offered a retake opportunity to demonstrate mastery. This retake will normally occur within two weeks of the assessment being returned and will require the student to participate in re-learning prior to re-taking the assessment. Students who score a 3 or below are strongly suggested to re-take the assessment, while students who score a 4 or above may elect to re-take the assessment if they have participated in the necessary retake process. Students who complete a re-take will be given the highest mark of the two summative grades in order to accurately measure and report their level of mastery.   

 

Grading and Reporting: Students receive formal quarterly, interim and end of year grade reports that assess their achievement toward learning objectives using the Virginia Standards of Learning, the Fairfax County Public Schools Program of Studies, and the IBMYP criteria for each subject area. Assignments will be posted to the electronic gradebook within 7 school days after the due date; however, please know that major projects/papers may require additional time to ensure quality feedback.

 

We do not average grades at Glasgow, and our growth mindset frees us to review the growth students have demonstrated within each quarter, as well as over the course of the year. To determine final grades, we calculate a criterion level total by combining each student’s levels of achievement across all four criteria. We use pre-set bands to determine the grade that each criterion level total represents (in line with Fairfax County’s middle school grading and reporting policies).

The “SIS ParentVue” will be open for parents to view their child’s grades, and all FCPS parents who have registered for SIS Parent Accounts with students in middle and high school will begin receiving weekly progress reports.  Parents should have received instructions in the mail from FCPS on the steps to sign up for SIS ParentVue.  Contact Dana Rivas, SIA, at [email protected] or 703-813-8735 if you need assistance with SIS ParentVue.

 

Intervention and support: : In a virtual setting, Office Hours are provided twice per week for every class. During this time, students can check in with teachers and get extra help. Please see the syllabus for specific classes to see when Office Hours will be held.