IKA: TRAIP ACADEMY GRADING AND REPORTING SYSTEM
The purpose of the Kittery School District grading policy is to establish a set of guiding principles that all district educators use to establish a system of grading that fairly, clearly, accurately and consistently communicates student learning progress and achievement.
A. Communicating the Grading System
To ensure that every student and family has the information and resources they need to understand and appropriately plan a student’s educational decisions, our schools, educators, and staff clearly and consistently communicate—prior to entering high school and throughout the student’s educational career—all important and relevant information related to the grading systems used at Traip Academy.
The Superintendent, through the Principal or other designee, is responsible for ensuring that accurate, up-to-date information concerning the Traip Academy grading system is (1) readily available to all incoming students and their families in the spring preceding the start of each school year. And (2) published on the district and high school websites. A detailed guide to grading and reporting practices is disseminated to all incoming ninth-grade students and their families at the time of course selection. This policy is referenced in each edition of the student handbook and on the district and high school websites. As soon as it is practical and feasible, the School Committee expects the Superintendent or designee to inform all students and their families of any modifications made to the grading system.
B. Academic Grading
Beginning with the class of 2018, all grading and reporting practices at Traip Academy reflect the following design characteristics:
1. The primary purpose of the grading system is to fairly, clearly, accurately, and consistently
communicate learning progress and achievement to students, families, postsecondary institutions,
potential employers, and other relevant stakeholders and audiences.
2. The grading system is designed to ensure that students, families, teachers, counselors, advisors
and support specialists have the detailed information they need to make important decisions about
a student’s education.
3. The grading system measures, reports, and documents student proficiency against a set of clearly
defined cross-curricular and content-area graduation standards developed by the administration,
faculty, and staff of Traip Academy.
4. The grading system measures, reports, and documents academic progress and achievement
separately from habits of work.
5. The grading system ensures consistency and fairness in the assessment of learning, and in the
assignment of scores and proficiency levels, across students, teachers, assessments, learning
experiences, content areas, and time.
6. The grading system may not be used as a form of punishment.
C. Habits of Work Grading
Beginning with the class of 2018, all grading and reporting practices for habits of work, character traits, and behaviors at Traip Academy reflect the following design characteristics:
1. The Traip Academy administration, faculty, and staff develops and applies a common set of
Habits of Work standards, and related scoring criteria, that teachers will use to grade
students on work habits.
2. The Habits of Work grading system measures, reports, and documents habits of work, character
traits, and behaviors separately from academic progress and achievement. A student achieving a
high level of academic proficiency may demonstrate a low level on Habits of Work proficiency,
and vice versa.
3. Habits of Work are monitored over the duration of a learning experience and scores, as measured
and determined using common assessment methods and scoring criteria, are reported for each
student at the end of a term or grading period.
4. The Habits of Work grading system ensures consistency and fairness in the assessment of work
habits, and in the assignment of scores and proficiency levels, across students, teachers,
assessments, courses, learning experiences, content areas, and time.
5. Habits of Work grades are communicated using the same performance levels used for academic
reporting.
6. Habits of Work grades may be used as a form of punishment.
D. Grading
Beginning with the class of 2018, Traip Academy employs a consistent system of grading that reports student learning progress and achievement across two aligned categories on a 4-point scale that aligns Proficiency Levels with Proficiency Descriptions.
Using rubrics and scoring guides, individual assessments are scored in accordance with the following Proficiency Levels and Proficiency Descriptions:
PROFICIENCY LEVELS PROFICIENCY DESCRIPTIONS
scriptions
4.0 Exceeds Proficiency
3.5 Proficient
3.0 Proficient
2.5 Partially Proficient
2.0 Partially Proficient
1.0 Not Demonstrated Yet
E. Grading Courses and Learning Experiences
s
Beginning with the class of 2018, aggregate proficiency scores on graduation standards are derived through a common and consistently applied process that is collaboratively developed by the administration, faculty, and staff at the school and approved by the Principal and the Superintendent.
Aggregate Proficiency Levels and Proficiency Descriptions for (1) academic courses and other learning experiences defined in the district’s Multiple Learning Pathways policy and (2) student achievement of each graduation standard is rounded to a single decimal point and reported in accordance with the following categories:
PROFICIENCY LEVELS PROFICIENCY DESCRIPTIONS
Descriptions
3.6–4.0 Exceeds Proficiency
3.0–3.5 Proficient
2.0–2.9 Partially Proficient
1.0–1.9 Not Demonstrated Yet
F. Grade Point Average
Beginning with the class of 2018, Traip Academy employs a consistent system of grading, scoring, and aggregating proficiency that produces a rolling and cumulative Grade Point Average for each student. The Grade Point Average is reported on the official Traip Academy transcript and is used to determine Latin honors in accordance with the following categories of academic distinction described in the district Academic Recognition policy (IKD):
Summa Cum Laude (with highest honors): a minimum GPA of 3.8
Magna Cum Laude (with great honors): a minimum GPA of 3.6
Cum Laude (with honors): a minimum GPA of 3.4
Adopted: August 4, 2015
Revised: September 26, 2022
Legal Reference None
Cross References: IKC: Transcripts
IKD: Academic Recognition
IKFF: Multiple Pathways
ILA: Student Assessment