Honors Biology Grading Policy
Effort – 2 categories (25%)
 Practice Work:
o Completed outside of class to reinforce concepts taught during the lesson/unit.
o Practice assignments will be tracked in IC but not counted as a grade (each practice is worth ZERO points). More like a
“thumbs up or down”.
o The lack of numbers will aid students and parents in seeing that practice is intended to help students prepare for projects,
tests and quizzes.
o The tracking will be done in the following manner:
 T= turned in & corrected to 100% if necessary
 M= not turned in (if absent, this will be noted in the comment box)
 X= excused from the assignment (to be used after the retake period is over so missing assignments that no
longer apply do not show up)
o Late practice is only required if a retake is required/desired
 Formative Assessments (FA):
o Daily progress checks (FAs) will be done on the previous day’s learning goals.
o FA’s will be tracked in IC and do count as a grade (each practice is worth ONE point).
o The tracking will be done in the following manner:
 1= completed the FA with the intention of learning from the experience
 M=
 did not complete the FA (if absent, this will be noted in the comment box) or;
 incomplete FA; for example, they did not attempt to answer all the questions or make corrections during
class.
 FA can still be completed for credit
 0= did not complete the FA prior to the final assessment for the unit
o As a result of this system, effort grade will be a result of the completion rate of FAs
Knowledge & Skills - 2 categories (60%)
 Knowledge quizzes (weight varies per unit)
o Retakes will be required for quizzes with scores below a 70% (C-).
o Assessments that must be retaken will be marked in IC with a “1” (1/100 averages as a 1% but tells parent/student a
retake is required). Once a retake is completed, the new score will replace the “1”.
o Anyone may take a retake in order to improve his or her score.
o The new score replaces the old score.
o All practice work must be completed before a retake is possible.
o Retakes are due three weeks from the original quiz date.
o Required retakes that are not completed within the deadline will revert to the original score & overtime may be assigned.
o One retake per quiz is allowed.
 Skills quizzes (weight varies per unit)
o Based on the Career and College Readiness Standards defined by the ACT
o Corrections will be required for quizzes with scores below a 70% (C-).
o Assessments that must be corrected will be marked in IC with a “1” (1/100 averages as a 1% but tells parent/student a
retake is required). Once corrections are completed, the new score will replace the “1”.
o Anyone may do corrections in order to improve his or her score.
o Score will increase by 10% up to a 90%
o Corrections are due three weeks from the original quiz date.
o Corrections that are not completed within the deadline will revert to the original score & overtime may be assigned.
Exam (15%)
 Semester cumulative exam
See example grade book on the next page.
Sample Grade Book Entry
Effort
Knowledge and Skills
Practice
(out of zero points each)
Practice
#1
IV/DV
X
“Thumbs down.”
Quiz has already
been taken for
this unit.
Formative Assessments
(out of one point each)
Practice
#2
Making a
scale for
a graph
Practice
#3
Study
guide 1.2
Practice
#4
Vocab
flashcards
FA #1
IV/DV
FA #2
Biodiv.
FA #3
Graphing
FA #4
Themes of
Biology
QUIZ #1
QUIZ #1
QUIZ #2
Knowledge
TLAS
Part 1
Skills
TLAS
Part 1
Knowledge
TLAS
Part 2
TLAS
Part 2
T
M
T
1
0
1
M
80
89
1
83
“Thumbs up.”
Student did this
suggested
practice.
“Thumbs down.”
Can still do this
practice b/c quiz
has not been
taken.
1 out of 1: Full
credit. Took the
FA with the
intention of
learning from it.
0 out of 1: Did
not complete the
FA before quiz.
Cannot get credit.
Missing FA:
Can still do
this practice
b/c quiz has
not been
taken.
80%. Can
retake if within
3 weeks of
original quiz
date…or not.
QUIZ #2
Skills
In knowledge and
skills, a “1”
represents a score
that is less than
70%. A retake is
required. Original
score recorded in
‘notes’ section.