• Reassessment Guidelines: Secondary Education 2022 - 2023

    In the course of our Secondary Division's ongoing discussion on grading practices that promote learning and mastery, the issue of retaking assessments has arisen. Over the last few years, we have employed several approaches to manage this process, with varied agreement regarding what is best for students and the process of learning. Our goal is to improve learning outcomes and to encourage students to persevere when something is initially difficult and to recognize a pathway exists for them to recover from early stumbles. This is one way we as educators can cause learning.

    In developing an approach, 7 - 12th teachers agree to follow the following guidelines when it comes to providing reassessments to our students:

    • We are no longer using the “70/70” practice (where only students who earn below a 70% can retake an assessment, with the highest possible grade they can earn being a 70%). This is not a mastery mindset. No research supports this practice, and it is not student-centered.  All students are welcome to retake an assessment to demonstrate their learning.
    • We also need to convey to our students that reassessments are not provided to allow students who already demonstrated a high-level understanding through the original assessment a way to raise their grade to a higher grade, or manipulate their final grade for a marking period or final grade in the course.  We provide reassessment opportunities to support learning and to help students who are struggling to master a skill or concept.  Multiple years of implementing this process has revealed, we must set objective criteria to allow us to consistently implement this practice across the district.  Therefore, the highest grade entered into the Infinite Campus gradebook on a reassessment will be a 90%.  

    Any student who wishes to retake a summative assessment, or a portion of it at their teacher’s discretion, should proceed as follows:

    Action Steps

    1. The student receives the initial summative assessment results, including a clear explanation for the grade received.

    2. The student communicates a desire to retake the assessment to demonstrate increased proficiency within three days of receiving the initial graded assessment (the actual reassessment does not have to occur within three days, but the request to retake an assessment must occur within the three-day window after the assessment is returned to the student).

    NOTE:

    • A reassessment can be limited to the area where a deficiency exists. Students do not need to retake an entire assessment.  This decision will be made by the teacher.

    3. The student completes the intervention work as directed by the teacher. This includes, but is not limited to supplemental reading, practice material, editing and redrafting, oral explanation, conferencing, etc. This process is at the discretion of the teacher – the need for autonomy is important; however, there must be a clearly-defined intervention process through which a student goes prior to sitting for the reassessment. This process includes feedback to the student to support learning. The classroom teacher will set the timeline for learning the information that was not initially mastered and the date of the reassessment.

    NOTE:

    • The intervention work may include revisiting all relevant formative practice and/or homework that has been completed leading up to the summative assessment.
    • If the student chooses not to engage in the learning activities developed by the teacher, the reassessment will not be given.

    4. The student retakes the summative assessment (or the portion not mastered). If the student receives a higher grade, that is the grade entered into IC (the highest grade entered into the gradebook will be a 90%). If the student earns a lower grade, the original grade will remain in the gradebook.

    5. If a request for reassessment is received beyond three days, the request may be denied. The intent behind these guidelines is to cultivate proficiency with procedural and sequential integrity, not to create a late-game academic safety net for students.

    6. There will be no retakes provided for assessments that occur during the last week of the marking period or semester as that is time earmarked for final assessment. 

    7. There are no reassessment opportunities on midterm exams or final exams.  These assessments measure skills and concepts previously assessed and reassessed during the course and students have had time for intervention as it was needed throughout the learning process.

     

    While mastery learning research promotes one iteration of this cycle, we want to be reasonable and student-centered; therefore, if an additional cycle is situationally warranted, the classroom teacher has the discretion to proceed accordingly.  

    AP Considerations
    • Students and parents/guardians understand when taking an AP course, there are certain protocols that are not practice in an AP course that are available in others.  AP courses are more rigorous and are designed to rival that of a college-level course including assessment practices.  This is not to say that teachers will not meet with students for re-teaching and re-learning activities, but the pacing and coverage of such a course is not as flexible as other non-AP courses.
    • Students in an AP course who achieve below an 80% on a summative assessment can reassess on that assessment. Preparation/intervention activities will be independent.   The teacher will answer questions about the independent preparation and intervention activities.  This can occur via Canvas module, email correspondence, Teams sessions, Lunch and Learn, or other types of informal arrangements.  One time during a marking period, a student who has earned greater than 80% on a summative assessment, may have a reassessment. 
    • The maximum grade entered into the Infinite Campus gradebook on any reassessment will be a 90%.