MJUSD
DIVISION 5000
STUDENTS

GRADES/EVALUATION OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

The Governing Board believes that grades serve a valuable instructional purpose by helping students and parent/guardians identify the student's areas of strength and those areas needing improvement. Parent/guardians and students have the right to receive course grades that represent an accurate evaluation of the student's achievement.

Teachers shall evaluate a student's work in relation to standards that apply to all students at his/her grade level, not in relation to the work of other students in one particular class. The Superintendent or designee shall establish and regularly evaluate a uniform grading system, and principals shall ensure that student grades conform to this system. Teachers shall inform students and parent/guardians how student achievement will be evaluated in the classroom.

Grades should be based on impartial, consistent observation of the quality of the student's work and his/her mastery of course content and objectives. Students shall have the opportunity to demonstrate this mastery through a variety of channels such as classroom participation, homework, tests and portfolios. The Board recognizes that portfolios may be especially useful in assessing how skills, knowledge and thought processes have been combined from a number of different subject areas.

When reporting student grades to parent/guardians, teachers may add narrative descriptions, observational notes and/or samples of classroom work in order to better describe student progress in specific skills and subcategories of achievement.

Behavior, effort and attendance shall be reported in separate evaluations, not in the student's academic grade.

Unexcused Absences

If a student misses class without an excuse and does not subsequently turn in homework, take a test or fulfill another class requirement that he/she missed, the teacher may lower the student's grade for nonperformance.

Students with excessive unexcused absences (more than 20% per grading period) may be given a failing grade and not receive credit for the class(es). Teachers who withhold class credit for this reason shall so inform the class and parent/guardians at the beginning of the semester.

Legal Reference:

Education Code
48070 Promotion and retention
48205 Excused absences
48431.6 Required systematic review
49066 Grades; finalization; physical education class
49067 Mandated regulations regarding pupil's achievement

United States Code, Title 20
6101-6251 School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994

First Reading: 5/24/01

Governing Board Adoption: 6/13/01