PROOPSED

Grading Protocols for Elementary,
Middle, High Schools

   

Grades 1 -1 2

Our Why for Protocol
This grading protocol, aligned with Board policy, sets forth district-wide standards for
grading students in grades 1-12 and provides a foundation for consistent grading
practices from teacher to teacher and school to school within the district. This
protocol is intended to support, not duplicate, policy requirements and should be
reviewed in conjunction with applicable district policies, including 5005 - Advanced
Courses, 5014 - Grading System for Grades K-5, and 5015 - Grading System for
Grades 6-12 to ensure compliance with Board policy.
In carrying out the requirements of this protocol, SCS school teachers and
principals are reminded that a district-wide moratorium on the use of grade
floors was established in 2017 and remains in
effect to date.
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 Roles & Responsibilities
Teachers will: (1) consistently implement common grade-level or department
grading procedures in compliance with this protocol, (2) clearly communicate the
common grading procedures to parents and students in writing under the
direction of the principal and mastery criteria for projects or other assignments
that are used to evaluate multiple concepts using tools such as rubrics or criteria
charts, and (3) record grades in the PowerTeacher Pro gradebook.
Principals will: (1) ensure compliance with Board policies and regulations
related to grading, (2) develop procedures to communicate the school grading
practices, (3) monitor teacher gradebooks and ensure that grading protocols are
followed, and (4) report student learning progress to all parents, school
instructional staff, and sponsors of school/district related
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extracurricular activities.

 District Required Grading Categories
& Weights (Per Nine Weeks)
Students in grades 1-12 must be provided an opportunity to earn at least 17 grades per nine-weeks (quarter) distributed
among the following categories with the following weights. With the exception of projects, portfolios, and presentations,
two grades for each required category (totaling eight grades) must be earned and recorded by the interim of the
nine-week period.

Elementary School
 Homework: 5% (min. of 4 grades)
 Class Participation: 5%
(min. of 4 grades)
 Classwork: 40% (min. of 4 grades)
 Projects/Portfolios/Presentations:
5% (min. of 1 grade)
 Assessments: 45%
(min. of 4 grades)

Middle School
 Homework: 10% (min. of 4 grades)
 Class Participation: 5%
(min. of 4 grades)
 Classwork: 40% (min. of 4 grades)
 Projects/Portfolios/Presentations:
5% (min. of 1 grade)
 Assessments: 40%
(min. of 4 grades)

District required grading categories and weights will be preset by the district in the
PowerTeacher Pro gradebook. PowerTeacher Pro is the only official gradebook for
the Shelby County Schools District; therefore, all recorded grades must be recorded
in PowerTeacher Pro. In addition, a printed backup copy of the gradebook must be
maintained per quarter.

High School
 Homework: 10% (min. of 4 grades)
 Class Participation: 5%
(min. of 4 grades)
 Classwork: 35% (min. of 4 grades)
 Projects/Portfolios/Presentations: 10%
(min. of 1 grade)
 Assessments: 40% (min. of 4 grades)
*Note: Semester grades are determined by
counting the two quarter grades as 85% and
the semester examination as 15%.

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 Special Education, English
Learners & Advanced Courses
• Special Education
The grading category requirements detailed in this protocol may be modified based on a student's IEP.

• English Learners
The grading category requirements detailed in this protocol may be modified based on a student's Individualized Learning
Plan (ILP).
Should this protocol contradict any requirements of a student’s IEP or ILP, the plan shall govern.
• Advanced High School Courses
Advanced courses governed by an MOU, institution of higher learning, the Tennessee Department of Education, and/or
have additional requirements must adhere to the requirements established under the program.

Teachers must manually enter the additional points for Advanced Courses for each nine-week grade and the
semester exam in the PowerTeacher Pro gradebook. Teachers should refer to the Administrative Rules and
Regulations of SCS Board Policy 5015 for guidance regarding the addition of points and to the PowerTeacher Pro
documentation provided by the Department of Student Information Management regarding how these
manual adjustments are made.

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 Make-up Work
Make-up work occurs during a nine-week period.
• Students shall be afforded the opportunity to make up work missed due to excused and unexcused absences.
• In the event of an excused absence, students are expected to make-up work missed within a reasonable time (e.g., at
least one or more days of make up for each day of excused absence).
• In the event of an unexcused absence (including short-term suspensions), one day of make up shall be allowed for
each day of unexcused absence (unless otherwise extended by the school or extended based on law or
policy), beginning the day after the student’s return to class. For example, if a student misses Thursday and
Friday of a week and returns to school on Monday, the student has Tuesday and Wednesday to complete make-up
work and work is due on Thursday.
• Students and/or parents should work with teachers for assistance in completing make-up work (e.g., obtaining
make-up work/assignments, requesting tutoring, participating in available tutoring, etc.).
• Assessments should be made up under the supervision of the classroom teacher or a designee.
• Teachers must provide the make-up work and determine the grade during a nine-week period.
• It should be the primary responsibility of students/parents to obtain the provided make-up work and to complete it in the
allotted time to receive full credit earned without point reduction.
• For middle and high schools, teachers should create designated areas in the classroom or a virtual platform for
students/parents to retrieve make-up work. Once make-up work is obtained, students/parents must sign-off that the work
has been received.
• No Report Grade Change of data form is required if all work is done and graded prior to report cards being issued.
• Teachers’ make-up rules/regulations must be included in principal-approved written communication to
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parents.

 Grade Intervention
(Elementary)
Grade Intervention focuses on principal-approved classroom and/or school level strategies and interventions. Grade
Intervention must occur during the nine-week period.
• Grade Intervention shall be available for students who: (1) need additional time to complete assignments necessary to
pass a subject due to absences, (2) have experienced special/extenuating circumstances that jeopardize their ability
to remain on track to pass a subject during a nine-week grading period (e.g., death/serious illness in the family,
displaced due to fire, etc.), or (3) demonstrate academic difficulty and/or are at risk of failing.
• Monitoring of students' grades must be an ongoing practice throughout each nine-week period.
• Once a student has been identified as having difficulty and/or in danger of failing, the teacher must notify the parent
and intervene to reduce or eliminate low academic performance/failure.
• The teacher and counselor will consult about grade-intervention options to best address a student's learning
challenge. Notification and documentation of the Grade-Intervention option(s) determined by the teacher must be
provided to the parent no later than the release of progress reports.
• Examples of grade-intervention options include, but are not limited to:
o Zeros are Not Permitted (ZAP)
o i-Ready
o RTI
o Correctives and test re-takes and/or assignment re-dos
o Tutoring

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 Retake/Re-do
(Middle & High Schools)
During the nine-week period, a teacher will not be
precluded from providing multiple opportunities for any
student desiring to retake assignments/assessments to
improve a grade.
However, provided opportunities must be in alignment
with Principal-approved guidelines including, but not
limited to, the exact number of times a student can retake
in a given nine week period.
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 Grade Repair
(Middle & High Schools)
Grade repair occurs after a student receives a failing grade for the nine-week period (quarter).
• Grade Repair shall be available for students who: (1) need additional time to complete assignments necessary to
pass a subject due to absences, (2) have experienced special/extenuating circumstances that jeopardize their ability
to remain on track to pass a subject during a nine-week grading period (e.g., death/serious illness in the family,
displaced due to fire, etc.), or (3) students who need to recover a failing grade (69 or below) during any of the first
three (3) quarters of a yearlong course or the first quarter of a semester-long course.
• Proactive monitoring of students' grades and implementation of intervention strategies must be an ongoing practice
throughout each nine-week period.
• The teacher must consult with the counselor about potential grade-repair options for a student at risk of failing for the
nine-week period as early as the release of progress reports.
• After a potential grade-repair option is determined, the counselor must immediately consult with the parent about
the grade repair option that will be provided for the student who is at risk of failing for the nine-week period and
provide documentation at the conclusion of the consultation.
• Once a student receives a failing grade for the nine week period, notification and documentation of the grade repair
option predetermined by the teacher and counselor must be provided to the parent with the nine-week report card.
• Grade-repair goes into effect at the start of the next nine-week period.
• Students required to take grade repair must participate in a grade repair program up to the end of the
following nine-week period in order to receive a maximum grade of 70 for the nine-week
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period that is being repaired.

 Grade Repair Cont’d.
Examples of Grade-Repair Options for High School include:
• Zeros are Not Permitted (ZAP)
• Memphis Virtual School (MVS) for online grade repair.
Examples of Grade-Repair Options for Middle School include:
• Zeros are Not Permitted (ZAP)
• i-Ready
• Kahn Academy
• Clever
Report Card Change of Data Grade Form
• In order to initiate a valid Report Card Change of Data form, the Teacher of Record must verify the
student has met the content guidelines to repair the nine-week grade, then correctly complete the form.
• The Teacher of Record must correct the nine-week grade/average in the PowerTeacher Pro gradebook
(a comment of “why” this grade was changed must be included).
• The school’s designee must then change the stored quarter grade in the historical section
of PowerSchool.
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 Credit Recovery
(High School)
Credit Recovery can be used when a failing grade has been recorded on the transcript for either a half credit or a full credit.
• Credit Recovery options include:
(1) Attend Summer School
(2) Retake the course at current school site
(3) Online Credit Recovery course at school site provided by Memphis Virtual School (with a
maximum grade of 70%)
• Not NCAA Clearinghouse Eligible
(4) Retake the course at Memphis Virtual School (MVS)- Full or half credit
(5) Attend Project Graduation
Note: Students who are concerned about NCAA Clearinghouse regulations should consult with a school
counselor.

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