Grading and Reporting
All learners, given the opportunity, can pursue their highest potential. Duluth Public Schools values the reporting of student progress in order to provide families with timely, accurate, and useful information to support students in this pursuit.
In Minnesota, academic standards are written by state committees and approved by legislative vote on a regular review and adoption schedule. The standards ensure that students throughout the state will receive similar instruction and are assessed according to how well they demonstrate a given standard.
Duluth Public Schools regularly reviews and revises its written curriculum as new Minnesota academic standards are adopted. Part of this process is to align instruction, assessment, and reporting to the standards. The academic standards are the skills and concepts students are expected to learn, analyze, process, and understand.
Our goal is that the grading and reporting of student achievement will:
- Reflect academic progress
- Contain meaningful information
- Measure publicly declared standards
- Be objective, fair, and useful
- Reflects consistency among courses, grade levels, departments, and schools
- Not reflect non-academic factors like participation or effort
Elementary Grading
Standards Based Grading reports student proficiency through a number of specific learning goals, or standards. Standards are the skills and concepts students are expected to learn, analyze, process, and understand. Through this process reporting then becomes a true reflection of what a student actually knows or can do, and not just an average of what they have done on activities, assignments, or assessments over a period of time.
The standards based report card is only one way of understanding your child’s progress in school. Conferences with the teacher, along with samples of your child’s work, can add to your understanding of your child’s performance in school. Fall conferences provide an opportunity for teachers and parents to discuss student strengths and set goals for the year. Elementary report cards are distributed twice per year - in January and in June. Winter conferences provide a check-in point for goals.
Click through the headings below to learn more about the markings used with standards based grading, how to read elementary report cards, and ways you can support your child's success.
Standards Based Grading Information
Secondary Grading
Students receive instruction based on curriculum and assessments that are written to reflect the Minnesota academic standards. Assessments in individual courses are also based on these academic standards.
Middle and High School Report Card - Students in grades 6-12 receive letter grades to report academic progress. Report cards for grades 6-12 are issued four times per year. You can keep your child's grades by regularly checking Infinite Campus and Canvas. Daily assignments are found in Canvas and final course grades are found in Infinite Campus. Infinite Campus is a secure, online portal that tracks your child's classroom assignments, grades, attendance and assessment results; This provides parents/guardians with a picture of their child's overall academic performance.
Family conferences at the secondary level are as important as at the elementary level. Conferences held twice a year at the middle and high school level are a time to connect with teachers and families to discuss your child's overall progress and well being.
The Family and Student handbook will provide information about grading at the secondary level.