Grades in a Diploma Plus School
This document is designed to explain the Diploma Plus grading system to teachers at Diploma Plus
schools. It details how individual assignments are graded, and how those grades from assignments are
used to calculate grades on report cards1.
Why are grades different at my Diploma Plus school?
Grading in Diploma Plus schools is designed to give your students feedback in how well they are
applying new skills and concepts to what they are learning in your classes. To do this, Diploma
Plus teachers give scores on each key learning objective (the Diploma Plus
Competencies, and in some schools the state’s prioritized learning
standards) instead of just one number or letter grade like in traditional
schools. This way you and your students have a better understanding of
their strengths and areas to improve since you are able to look at each
different key learning objective separately.
In all Diploma Plus schools, teachers use Diploma Plus Competencies and state learning
standards to plan and teach classes. Teachers in all Diploma Plus schools also grade student
work using the DP Competencies, and in many schools are required to grade student work with
the state’s prioritized learning standards as well.
How do I grade assignments?
During your curriculum planning process, you choose the “content” and “personal” competencies - and
the prioritized standards if your school also grades them- which your students will be able to
demonstrate by completing a given assignment. You then use the rubrics for the competencies (and
standards where applicable) you identified for the assignment and look for evidence in your students’
submitted work of how well they met these learning outcomes. Using the evidence found in the
students’ assignments, you then assign a score -from No Credit to Advanced- for each DP Competency
(and prioritized standard).
How are competency grades calculated for students’ report cards?
When a competency has been graded five or more times (meaning the student earned an Emerging or
higher at least five times on the competency), then DiplomaPlus.net determines a trend2 in the work on
that competency throughout the marking period and reports that result on the student’s report card. If
a student has completed three or four assignments that showed her or his use of a particular
competency, then DiplomaPlus.net suggests a competency grade for the report card by taking the mean
of those assignment grades.
For example, suppose a student completed seven assignments that demonstrated her use of Social
Studies Competency SS04 and earned the following scores on that competency:
1
More detailed information about grading can be found in the DiplomaPlus.net FAQ at:
<http://wiki.classdrive.net/index.php/Grading_faq>.
2
The trend used is called the Power Law. Please refer to Robert Marzano’s Transforming Classroom Grading for
more information on how to calculate a Power Law regression.
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February 16
Page 1 of 7
Grades in a Diploma Plus School
Assignment
Number
Competency
Grade on SS04
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2
1
2
2
3
2
4
The graph below shows the data from the table above as the blue points, and the gray curve shows the
trend line. The final competency grade is found by using the trend line for the last assignment
completed. In this case, the trend line predicts a
competency grade of nearly a 3, or a Bridging for
Determining a Final Competency Grade
the seventh assignment, and is marked by the red
star.
5
4
SS04 Grades on
Assignments
3
2
1
0
0
1
2
3
4
Assignment
Number
5
6
7
Every competency score on the report card is
calculated this way, by using either the mean for
competencies graded three or four times, or the
trend line for competencies graded five times or
more. DiplomaPlus.net applies the same rules to
calculate grades for Prioritized Standards in
schools that use these to grade as well.
Can an “overall” course grade be determined for a report card?
Because Diploma Plus has schools in many different districts, there are some differences in what
information, besides the DP Competencies, is reported on report cards. However, many schools report
not only the competency (and sometimes standards) scores but also some “overall” grade for a course
for each marking period. This overall grade may be either a percentage score, or a letter grade, or both.
In order to earn an overall grade, a student must first meet all the requirements for the course (for
example, completing the portfolio, presentation, and internship, meeting attendance requirements,
etc.) and not have any competency (or prioritized standards) scores that are No Credit. If a student
either does not meet all the requirements or has any competency (or standards) grade for a course that
is a No Credit, the student should receive a No Credit or an NC for the overall grade for the course.
How is a percentage grade determined for schools that grade only with DP Competencies?
If a student meets all the course requirements and has all competency grades
above a No Credit, then the percentage grade would be found by taking a
weighted average of the final competency grades. First, the mean of the
“content” competencies, and the mean of your “personal” competencies are
calculated. The content competencies are worth 65% of the percentage grade
and the personal competencies are worth 35%, so the means of the content and
personal competencies are scaled by .65 and .35 respectively and those weighted
scores are added together.
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Grades in a Diploma Plus School
Then you use the table below to convert this score into a percentage. For example, suppose a student
earned the following grades on his report card in a math course:
The mean of his content competency grades is a 3.0 and the mean
of his personal competency grades is a 3.6. The scaled scores of his
content and personal competencies are 1.95 and 1.25, which gives
a total weighted average of a 3.2. By the table
Weighted
Overall
below, this student would receive a 73% if he
Average of Percentage
completed all the requirements for the course as
Final Grades Grade
well.
3.0
70
How is a percentage grade determined for schools that grade using DP
3.1
71.5
Competencies and Prioritized Standards?
3.2
73
If a student meets all the course requirements and has all competency and standards
3.3
74.5
grades above a No Credit, then the percentage grade would be found by taking a
3.4
76
weighted average of the final content and personal competency grades and final
3.5
77.5
prioritized standards grades. First the mean of the final grades on each content
3.6
79
competency, the mean of the final grades on each personal competency and the
3.7
80.5
mean of the final grades on each prioritized standard are
3.8
82
calculated. The content competencies are worth 32.5% of
3.9
83.5
the percentage grade, the personal competencies are worth
4.0
85
17.5%, and the standards are worth 50%, so the means of
4.1
86.5
the content and personal competencies, and the prioritized
4.2
88
standards are scaled by 0.325, 0.175, and 0.5 respectively
4.3
89.5
and those weighted scores are added together. Then you
4.4
91
use the table to the right to convert this score into a
4.5
92.5
percentage grade.
4.6
94
Again, suppose a student earned the following final competency grades in a math
4.7
95.5
course:
4.8
97
Content
Competencies
M01: 3
M02: 4
M04: 2
M05: 3
Personal
Competencies
P01: 2
P02: 4
P03: 4
P05: 5
P06: 3
4.9
Content
Competencies
Personal
Competencies
Prioritized
Standards
M01: 3
P01: 2
G 1.0: 5
M02: 4
P02: 4
G 3.0: 2
M04: 2
P03: 4
G 7.0: 3
M05: 3
P05: 5
G 10.0: 2
P06: 3
G 12.0: 4
G 16.0: 4
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98.5
The mean of his content competency
5.0
100
grades is a 3.0, the mean of his personal
competency grades is a 3.6, and the mean of his prioritized
standards grades is a 3.3. The scaled scores of his content
competencies, personal competencies, and prioritized
standards are 0.975, 0.63, and 1.65, respectively, which
gives a total weighted average of a 3.3 (or exactly 3.275).
By the table above, this student would receive a 74.5% if he
completed all the requirements for the course as well.
How is a letter grade assigned for a course?
The conversion from percent to letter grades is determined
by each individual Diploma Plus school, although it may be
based on your district requirements.
February 16
Page 3 of 7
Steps to Assigning Final Grades to Students
Purpose: This guide has been developed to enable faculty and staff at Diploma Plus schools to
be able to understand and apply the different steps that are used within DiplomaPlus.net to
calculate students’ final grades.
Step 1: The teacher identifies the Content Competencies, Personal Competencies, and where
applicable, state standards that will be assessed on a student assignment. For instance,
suppose the assignment To Kill a Mockingbird Journal Reflection will be graded using the
competencies ELA02, ELA05, and P03.
Step 2: The teacher grades every student’s work using the rubric for each of those
competencies. Suppose in this case, the teacher determines from the rubrics that Simone
Adamley’s work on her To Kill a Mockingbird Journal Reflection demonstrates a Capable level of
understanding on ELA02, Proficient on ELA 05, and Needs Improvement on P03.
What would the screen look like if John Bender earned an Advanced on ELA 02, Emerging
on ELA 05, and an Advanced on P03?
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Steps to Assigning Final Grades to Students
Step 3: At the end of the marking period, the Power Law is used to determine each
competency grade by looking at all the assignment grades related to that competency and
calculating the trend line based on the power law of learning, as described by Marzano.
DiplomaPlus.net will determine the competency score using the mathematical regression for
the Power Law automatically, and Microsoft Excel will also do this when the Analysis Pak is
installed, the scatter plot of the data series is selected, and the Power trend line is chosen.
Suppose Simone Adamley earned, along with her grades from the To Kill a Mockingbird
Reflection (assignment A), the following scores on the other eight assessments given in a term:
Competency
A
ELA01
ELA02
ELA05
P01
P03
2
3
1
B
2
3
3
1
C
4
2
5
D
4
2
1
2
Assignment
E
4
2
4
3
F
3
3
3
2
G
4
3
3
3
H
5
5
2
5
4
I
4
3
5
3
While DiplomaPlus.net will
calculate the competency
ELA01 Report Card Grade
grade of ELA01 for the report
6
card automatically, teachers
5
and students can also make a
reasonable prediction by
4
ELA 01 Grades
plotting each grade for that
3
competency in order of the
Power Law
2
assignment, and estimating a
1
Power Law curve. Where the
curve ends at the final
0
H
0
1B
2C
3D
4F
5G
6
assignment (in this example,
Assignment
H) is a good estimate of the
report card grade for that
competency.
Here, DiplomaPlus.net would assign the student an Advanced (5) score for ELA01, since the
black regression curve ends closer to a 5 than a 4.
Use Simone Adamley’s scores on ELA02 to make a prediction for her report card grade on
that competency using the chart provided on the following page.
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Steps to Assigning Final Grades to Students
ELA02 Report Card Grade
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
1A
2B
3D
4E
5G
6H
7I
Note: Her
predicted score
from
DiplomaPlus.net
would be a
Proficient (4).
Step 4: For schools that choose to use the option, an overall course grade in the form of a
percent and/or a letter grade can also be determined from DiplomaPlus.net. Once the
competency grade has been determined using the Power Law for each competency, the
percentage grade is calculated by first taking a weighted average of these grades, where the
Content Competencies are worth 65% and the Personal Competencies are worth 35%, and then
scaling that value by multiplying the weighted average by 15 and then adding 25 points. (In the
case of schools that use standards for grading as well, the standards grades are worth 50%, the
content competencies are worth 32.5%, and the personal competencies are worth 17.5%, and
then scale the score.)
Continuing with the example above, using the Power Law for each competency, Simone
Adamley would receive the following scores on her report card:
Competency
ELA01
ELA02
ELA05
P01
P03
Report Card Grade
5
4
2
5
4
Her percentage grade can be found by first calculating
the weighted average:
542
5 4
)  .035  
  3.78 .
3
 2 
Then scale that score:
0.65  (
15  3.78  25  81.7 .
Simone Adamley’s overall percentage score would be 81.7%. If a school uses a letter grade as
well, DiplomaPlus.net would then use the conversion defined by the school to assign a letter
grade.
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Steps to Assigning Final Grades to Students
John Bender’s competency grades on his report card are shown below. What would be his
overall percentage score for his report card?
Competency
ELA01
ELA02
ELA05
P01
P03
Report Card Grade
5
5
4
2
1
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First calculate his weighted average:



  0.35  
0.65  




 

Then scale that score:
  25 
15  
February 16
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