American Heritage of South Jordan

The goal of grading and report cards is to help inspire a child to reach for excellence. Grading reports are essential for measuring the progress and performance of each student—and grades must have meaning if they are to measure progress and achieve the goal of inspiring the child to reach for excellence. Because children learn the meaning of grades both at home and school, the ways parents and teachers convey the meaning of grades should be consistent.

There are at least four important principles in relation to grades:

Grades are a measurement of past performance, not a measurement of potential.

Grades provide a point of reference for individual progress. Comparisons to another child’s grades are therefore irrelevant and often have the negative effect of conveying a false sense of inferiority or superiority.

The focus of teachers, parents, and students should be on making progress, not on making a particular grade. Grades are a natural byproduct of the learning process, not the goal of it.

Grades are not to be feared.

Report cards at AHSJ measure performance in two separate categories; (1) academic performance and (2) self-government, which includes effort and citizenship. Report cards are an important tool in achieving the goal of grading, which is to inspire a child to reach for excellence by measuring past performance and striving for progress.

Grades given for academic performance should be objective measurements of a student’s progress in meeting the objectives of a course or curriculum through a variety of evaluative measures, such as text assignments (both oral and written), class participation, special assignments, research, activities of various kinds/types, special contributions, tests/ quizzes, homework, notebooks, and student projects.

Grades K-5

EP = Excellent Progress (100-90%)

CP = Consistent Progress (89-80%

SP = Slow Progress (79-70%)

LP = Limited Progress (69-60%)

NP = Not Passing (59-0%)

* With Accommodation

Grades 6-12

Grading scale is as follows:

Self-Government Grades for all grades:

Self-government grades—which indicate citizenship and effort—are intended to measure and inspire good self-government, work ethic, and non-academic contributions and achievements in the classroom.

The grade scale for self-government is as follows:

O = Outstanding

Demonstrates exceptional effort and work ethic; and

Makes significant or frequent contributions in class; and

Completes and submits all in-class and homework assignments on time, unless otherwise excused by the instructor; and

Does not require more than one warning from faculty or administration to improve specifically identified behavior.

G = Good

Demonstrates good effort and work ethic; and

Makes occasional contributions to the class; and

Completes and submits most in-class and homework assignments on time; and

Generally does not require more than two (but occasionally more) warnings from faculty or administration to improve specifically identified misbehavior.

MS = Minimum Standard

Demonstrates a minimal level of effort and work ethic; and

Makes very few contributions to the class; and

Submits most in-class and homework assignments, but not in a complete or timely way; and

Requires multiple warnings from faculty or administration to improve specifically identified misbehavior.

BMS = Below Minimum Standard

Demonstrates an unacceptable level of effort and work ethic; or

Does not contribute to the class; or

Consistently neglects to submit in-class or homework assignments.

In most cases, subject to limited exceptions at the discretion of the instructor and administration, dismissal from class and referral to the office will result in a BMS self-government grade for the term.