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Important Message for Parents PowerSchool was purchased as a tool to increase communication between parents and teachers. We are excited at the potential of this new technology but realize that with this comes a paradigm shift. The teachers at Dalat have been preparing to use PowerSchool and have spent numerous hours learning how to use the program to its full potential. We believe that along with teachers it is also important for parents to become educated in the process of grades and assessment. Before PowerSchool, parents received grade information only upon request or at scheduled times – progress reports, end of each quarter, end of the semester. With PowerSchool it will now be possible for them to check grade information at any point in the semester. With that in mind parents need to know and understand the following: 1. That each teacher has their own grading system. Some teachers work on a straight points system while others weight the scores according to assignment categories (tests, quizzes, etc). Some give grades for class participation while others do not except late work. Our teachers inform all of their students at the beginning of the course of what their expectations and grading scheme will be for the class. For this reason it is very important for parents to read the grading philosophy found at the top of each Class Score Detail page. 2. Grades can change dramatically in the first few weeks of each quarter. In the beginning of each quarter you may see wild shifts in the class average of your child. This is simply because when there are only one or two assignments in the grade book, a low or high score can make a dramatic change in the overall grade. 3. Teachers need time to grade projects, assignments, and tests. Each day teachers are expected to have new material and lesson plans ready for class. Many teachers are also involved in extra curricular activities that take time to plan and attend. With that in mind teachers do need time to get the assignments graded. For example a teacher will not be able to post grades for an essay assignment the next day when he/she has 27 students in their class. We have asked our teachers to have all major test and project grades entered into PowerSchool within two weeks of the due date and minor assignments and projects will be posted within a week of their due date. Please be patient as it does take time. To help in communication the following codes will be used in the grade books:
RU
= Received but Ungraded |