Grading Periods and Interim Report Periods

Reports cards will be issued at the end of each nine- week grading period at Vernon Malone College and Career Academy.  Teachers must issue interim reports for all students at every three weeks of each quarter according to the WCPSS calendar. 

Assessment Types

Summative assessments are designed to evaluate students’ academic achievement at the end of a sequence of instruction. Only summative assessments will count toward a student’s grade in order for the grade to reflect only the academic achievement.

Formative assessments are designed to provide the student with direction for improvement and to provide the teacher with direction for instruction.  All formative assessments will receive feedback, and performance on formative assessments will be reflected in the student effort and behavior grade.

Homework: Practice/Formative or Summative

Work that is assigned for students to complete at home can either be Practice/ Formative or Summative.

Practice is an important part of the learning process.  Practice may be assigned to be completed during class time or at home.  Practice work is considered formative work and does not count toward students’ grades.

Work that is assigned for students to complete at home can be Summative. These assignments may include, as an example, essays and projects.  These assignments will count toward students’ grades.

The following are district-wide expectations for homework:

• The teacher will introduce a concept or skill, thoroughly explain the concept or skill, and provide guided practice before making a related homework assignment.
• Homework assignments shall be specific, within the student' ability and have clearly defined expectations.  Questions pertaining to the completion of a homework assignment should be answered and clarified.
• Homework assignments are not to be given as punishment or busy work.
• Homework assignments will not require the use of books or materials, which are not readily available in the home or accessible to the student.

The following are school-wide expectations for homework:

• Homework, summative or formative, should not exceed an average of 30 minutes per class each night;
• Aside from long-term projects, should not be scheduled during student breaks;
• Summative Homework will count for no more than 15% of the grade.
• Summative homework may be completed throughout the duration of a unit of study or within 5 days of the date assigned, whichever comes first.
• Summative homework will be accepted for a penalty of 10 points per day.
• Summative homework will not be accepted after the summative assessment and unit of study has been completed.
• Summative homework that is not turned in within the 5 day window or by the end of the unit, whichever is soonest, will be calculated as a zero (0).
• All formative homework should receive feedback.

Extra Credit

Extra credit will not be offered to students.  We commit to assigning students meaningful, purposeful work to facilitate learning. All of it is essential to mastery of learning objectives.  If additional practice is needed for mastery, it will be assigned.

Missed Work

The following are district-wide expectations for missed work:

• If the absence is approved in advance and/or if the work is assigned by the teacher in advance, all make-up work, including tests assigned for the day of return, is due upon the student's return to school. Teachers should use discretion and may make exceptions in the case of students whose excused absences were not planned in advance, were beyond the student' control, and the nature of which would not support make-up work the day of return
• If the make-up work has not been assigned in advance, for absences of one (1) to three (3) days, the student will have one day for each day absent. For absences exceeding three (3) days, the student may have two (2) days for each day absent to make up work.  Special consideration will be given in the case of extended absences due to injury or chronic illness.

The following are school-wide expectations for missed work:

• If the missed work is not related to absences, students will have up to five (5) days to turn in the assignment.
• For each day a summative assignment is late, 10 points will be deducted from the earned grade.
• PowerSchool, by default, does not calculate missing work in the grade. Teachers will enter missed work as a zero throughout the quarter to indicate that it is missing. At the end of a grading quarter, any missing work will be recorded as a zero (0).

Resubmission of Assignments

• Students will be allowed to resubmit summative assignments at teacher discretion. They will be allowed one resubmission for an assignment.  Teachers will determine when a resubmission is allowed, the timeframe in which it is allowed, and whether whole or part of the resubmission will be done.
• If students don’t complete a set of formative/practice homework assignments and then fail the related summative assessment, they must go back and complete all the formative tasks before they can retake the assessment.
• For resubmissions, the new grade will replace the original grade whether it is higher or lower.

Calculating Grades

• In order to maintain consistency in calculation, all teachers will include a minimum of 10 assessments per quarter as part of the student’s grade.
• Formative Assignments: All formative assignments will receive feedback and will be reflected in the student effort and behavior grade.
• Teachers are committed to updating their grades in PowerSchool at a minimum of every two weeks.                                           

Grading Scale and Quality Points

Course Withdrawal Penalty

Except in emergency situations as approved by the principal, students are not allowed to drop a course after the first ten days of school.  If a student withdraws after a ten-day period and an emergency situation does not exist, a failure (WF) is noted as the grade and the course is counted as a course attempted with no quality points relative to class rank.  This includes withdrawal from all WTCC courses.

Process for Calculating Grades for Courses

A uniform process and formula shall be used to calculate student final grades. See example below.

• Quarter 1 = 40%
• Quarter 2 = 40%
• Final Exam = 20%
• Final Course Grade = .4 (Q1 Average) + .4 (Q2 Average) + .2 (Final Exam)

Repeating a Course

Students may opt to repeat a failed course or to improve a low grade received for a first attempt. Failed courses repeated with the same course code are eligible for grade replacement.  While record of the first attempt must be kept, only the passing grade is calculated in the GPA.  For passed courses retaken to improve mastery, both attempts will be recorded and calculated in the GPA.

Promotion Requirements

Promotion to grade 10 is based on successful completion of at least four credits, one of which must be English I and two that must be in the area of mathematics, social studies or science and one additional credit.

Promotion to grade 11 is based on the successful completion of a minimum of eight credits; two that must English I and II, one must be in mathematics, one must be in social studies or science.

Promotion to grade 12 is based on the successful completion of 14units of credit, three of which must be English (I, II, III).  The student must be enrolled in a program that if successfully accomplished, will result in the completion of graduation requirements.

*No two English courses shall be taken concurrently in the same academic year except in extenuating circumstances as defined by the principal.  Any student failing an English course is strongly encouraged to make up that credit in summer school.

Course Registration and Student Schedules

Each semester the VMCCA Student Services team will review student schedules for the upcoming semester. They will review credits earned/credits required and ensure that the schedule for the new semester meets the students’ academic program requirements.

Student schedules for Wake Tech courses are recorded by the Director of Career and Technical Education Partnership in the student’s Wake Tech Web Advisor account. Students use their Wake Tech log-in to access their Web Advisor account.

Summer School and Credit Recovery Policy

WCPSS summer school, using GradPoint, will be offered to VMCCA students as long as it is offered through WCPSS. Summer school seats will be assigned to upperclassmen first. Courses through this system are for recovery credit only and are pass/fail. All student requests and registrations require the approval of the VMCCA Administration. Transportation and Child Nutrition Services are not provided by WCPSS for summer school.