Grading
Our grading system is a cooperative effort between you and CLASS. We are committed to quality and integrity in grading, and we believe that you, the teacher, deserve to have input into your student’s final grade. Therefore, we expect you to grade your student’s daily homework assignments for courses that include daily work keys, and to report his final daily work score to us.
Some courses require you to submit your graded daily work to CLASS for our review. However, many of our courses allow you to decide how much daily work your student must complete, and require that you submit only a completed R&I sheet with the final daily work score recorded on it.
How The Grading Process Works
When your student’s coursework arrives at CLASS, it is sorted according to type of document, not by student. All scannable documents are taken as a whole directly to our Posting Department for scanning and input into our computer system. The daily work and manually-graded tests are sorted by course and then sent to our Grading Department where they await hand-grading.
Once in the Grading Department, our grading staff will grade the daily work or confirm the score in the case of parent-graded daily work. Hand-graded tests, however, are first sorted by test number before grading occurs. Once scores have been determined and/or confirmed, both R&I sheets and tests are sent to our Posting Department for input into our computer system.
Once coursework has been submitted to CLASS for grading, it becomes the property of Christian Liberty. CLASS does not return graded work.
Grading Policies
Tests
We may deduct points from a student’s final score for not following test instructions—even if the answers are correct. For example, you must show your work on certain math tests.
We will count incomplete sections of a test as incorrect.
We do not return graded tests. Once submitted to CLASS, all coursework becomes the property of CLASS. Grades for tests that have been submitted will appear on your quarterly report cards. You should be submitting approximately one-fourth (¼) of your student’s tests each quarter in order to monitor his progress. Do not wait until all tests are completed before submitting them.
We do not send test-failure notices. Failing test scores will appear on the report card.
If you disagree with a test score that appears on your student’s report card, you may contact CLASS and request that the score be reviewed. You must do so within forty-five (45) days (sixty [60] days if you have a foreign address) of the date the report card was mailed. Upon request, CLASS will review a test—one time only—to ensure that it has been graded properly. We offer a general explanation of the score for failed 8th–12th grade level courses.
Daily Work
Use the answer key (if provided) to grade your student’s work on a daily basis. Use the steps found in Making the Grade below to determine the final daily work score.
If you are required to submit the daily work with the R&I sheet, CLASS will check the work to make sure it has been completed according to the course instructions, that you have graded it accurately, and that it meets our standards of quality and integrity. We reserve the right to make adjustments to the final score based on this evaluation.
CLASS does not return submitted daily work after processing. Once submitted to CLASS, all coursework becomes the property of CLASS. As with tests, grades for daily work that has been submitted and graded during a particular quarter will appear on that quarter’s report card.
Making The Grade
Grading is a joint effort between CLASS and the instructor. We will score each required test that your student completes and submits to CLASS. You are responsible for grading your student’s daily work for courses that include a daily work answer key.
Tests
For courses that have tests, the tests usually make up between sixty and eighty percent (60–80%) of the final grade. Therefore, it is very important that you carefully monitor your student’s test-taking process. See Test Preparation and Submission for tips on how to do this.
We recommend that you review the completed tests with your student to provide immediate feedback. However, do not make any marks or change any answers on the completed tests. Submit the tests to CLASS for grading.
Tests must reflect correct answers, display the student’s ability to apply the correct methods and procedures for achieving the answers, and demonstrate the ability to follow directions. We may deduct credit for failing to follow test instructions—even if the answers are correct.
For example, students must show their work on math tests to demonstrate their understanding of the mathematical concepts presented. Students may lose full credit for a problem which does not show all steps leading to the answer. We will, however, award partial credit for problems which follow the proper steps but fail to arrive at the correct answer. Scannable math tests are an exception to this requirement. On scannable tests, students will receive full credit for correct answers only.
Daily Work
Use the answer key or teacher’s manual to grade your student’s daily work. Keep in mind that answer keys and teacher’s manuals are for parent/teacher use only. Students should never have access to them. We suggest that you grade each page of daily work separately. Record the number of points earned by the student at the top of each page along with the total number of points possible. Usually this is done as a fraction. For example, if a student answered eight out of a possible ten questions correctly on a page, write 8/10 on the top.
Each problem or question counts as one point, but may contain more than one component. You may award partial credit when necessary. For example, you may award ½ credit for a multiple-step math problem if the student showed his work properly but miscalculated the answer on the final step.
At the conclusion of the course, divide the total number of points earned by the total number of problems or questions required. This should result in a percentage score for the entire course. Then, consider the quality of your student’s work.
Award high scores for quality work. Quality work is written neatly; it follows rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Quality work uses complete and well-developed sentences; it provides thorough answers which demonstrate mastery of the material. It follows the guidelines set by the instructor and by CLASS: using pen or pencil when specified, writing cursive when appropriate, and completing all required compositions and research papers. If coursework does not meet quality standards in a particular area, points should be deducted as indicated in the Range of Daily Work Deductions (see below).
Once you have calculated the final daily work score, write this on the R&I sheet. For additional information, see your course instructions and Submitting Coursework.
Range of Daily Work Deductions
Check each of the specific problems listed and deduct points according to the tables listed below.
For the overall course:
- Work not neatly written—1 to 5 points from final score
- Printed when cursive is required—1 to 5 points from final score
- In pencil when ink is required—1 to 5 points from final score
- Incomplete, undeveloped sentences—1 to 10 points from final score
- Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors—1 to 5 points from final score
For composition assignments:
- Technical errors on composition work —1 to 5 point from composition score
- Poor content on composition work—1 to 5 point from composition score
- Composition work written in pencil—1 to 2 point from composition score
Example daily work score calculation:
Assume the total number of points earned by a student for the entire course = 257
Assume the total number of points possible = 323
correct/# possible = 257/323 = 0.795 = 80%
Deduction for neatness—1 point
Deduction for spelling—2 points
Total deductions—3 points
80% – 3 points = 77% final daily work score
If this were a grammar course for which you included the composition option, then you would take the following additional steps.
Multiply the final daily work score by 0.9. (Compositions are graded separately from other daily work, and are worth 10% of the overall daily work grade.)
Take the grade given on the composition, deduct points for any problems, and then multiply this score by 0.1.
Add this score to the adjusted daily work score from above to determine your true final daily work score.
Back to our example…
77% x 0.9 = .693 modified daily work score
Assume the student received a score of 88 out of 100 on the composition (88%).
88% – 2 points = 86% composition score
86% x 0.1 = 0.086 modified composition score
0.693 + 0.086 = 0.779 = 78% final adjusted daily work score
Explanation of Scores
CLASS does not return graded work. Instead, we provide a more effective means of feedback. If you have a question about a score your student has received, you may request a professionally prepared explanation of that score. When considering your request, we assume that you have retained a copy of the pertinent document as we encourage you to do in the Handbook. We also assume that you have been teaching the course as prescribed by CLASS and that you and your student have been accessing all appropriate support materials and services made available with the course.
To receive the greatest benefit from this service, you must send in tests as soon as each one is completed. Do not wait until the end of the school year to send in all of your tests. Also, make use of the daily work and test keys that have been provided to evaluate your student’s work before submission. This way, you will need to request an explanation of the score only if there is a discrepancy between the score you have calculated and one posted by CLASS. When you receive our response, use your copy of your student’s work as a reference when reading through the explanation.
Explanation of Scores requests may be made by fax or email. You can also submit a Report Card Adjustment Request Form.
LIMITATIONS
This service is not intended to teach your student the course. Nor is it intended for situations in which families have submitted all the tests for an entire course at one time. This service is designed to support your efforts as the parent/teacher. It is intended, in cooperation with our QuickScore Service, to provide timely corrective feedback while a course is still in progress.
Final Grades
Although CLASS uses numeric grades to report your student’s progress on a course, once the course is complete, a final letter grade is issued. The final grade is based on the student’s test scores and daily written work. Each final letter grade becomes the official transcript grade. Subjects that have no chapter tests will be given only one final letter grade upon completion of the course. All CLASS courses will receive their own grade* on report cards and transcripts so that they can be easily identified.
* Kindergarten and advanced kindergarten are exceptions to this rule. For more information, see Kindergarten Grade Level Requirements.
Grading Scale
Final letter grades are determined from the point scale listed below.
Courses receiving Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory scores do not use the point scale. Rather, their grades are based on an overall review of the coursework submitted.
| 94-100 | A | Excellent |
| 87-93 | B | Good |
| 77-86 | C | Fair |
| 70-76 | D | Poor, but passing |
| 0-69 | F | Failing |
| S | Satisfactory | |
| U | Unsatisfactory |