Below are the communications that were sent out for elementary and secondary grading on April 14, 2020.
ELEMENTARY GRADING COMMUNICATION (en español)
Dear NUSD Community,
Over the last several weeks we have worked with partners within and beyond our community to determine the best course of action for elementary school grading. After many communications and much research, we are committed to providing information regarding student progress during the time of distance learning. We know that we need to provide information to students, parents, and future teachers to make understandable, to the best of our ability, where students are. We are working closely with NFT to determine exactly what this will look like and will share more as we finalize our plan.
We considered other alternatives like credit/no credit, but found that those other alternatives did not make sense as elementary students do not earn credit at the end of their grading period and we moved away from a failure based learning model in elementary school many years ago.
I will be hosting a Facebook Live event with the Assistant Superintendent of Education Services, Amie Carter, later today, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at 4:00 pm, to answer your questions about grading and other topics. Here is a link to a survey to submit your questions: https://bit.ly/TownHallApril14. The Facebook Live event can be found on NUSD’s Facebook page @novatounified. You do not need a Facebook account to watch.
Please know we are working toward a grading solution that is best for all students as well as for teachers and families. I am confident we will finalize our plan soon.
Sincerely,
Kris Cosca
SECONDARY GRADING COMMUNICATION (en español)
Dear NUSD Community,
Over the last several weeks we have worked with partners within and beyond our community to determine the best course of action for middle and high school grading. After many communications and much research, we have decided that a credit/no credit grading system for the spring 2020 semester will best serve our community.
The decision to temporarily shift to credit/no credit grading was made after many conversations and receiving input and guidance from many including: teachers, principals, education services staff, public and private university officials, Marin County districts serving high school students, other superintendents across the state and the Marin County Office of Education.
We are confident that moving to credit/no credit grading will best serve our staff and students without in any way hindering our students with goals of attending college. Public and private colleges across our country have announced dramatic changes to how they will assess student applications in the light of COVID-19. You can find much of that guidance here. Students will not be penalized for missing standardized tests or for posting credit/no credit transcripts for this semester. Some of the clearest guidance was provided by Harvard University and can be found here.
When colleges review a student’s application they lean heavily on the high school’s official School Profile. The School Profile describes any unique circumstances to colleges. These include graduation requirements, grade point average calculations, honors and advanced placement courses, average SAT/ACT scores and any other element that makes a school unique. NUSD’s decision to shift to credit/no credit grading as a result of the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic will be outlined in the School Profile and accepted without penalty. It is our intention to return to traditional grading in the fall.
I will be hosting a Facebook Live event with the Assistant Superintendent of Education Services, Amie Carter, later today, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at 4:00 pm, to answer your questions about grading and other topics. Here is a link to a survey to submit your questions: https://bit.ly/TownHallApril14. The Facebook Live event can be found on NUSD’s Facebook page @novatounified. You do not need a Facebook account to watch.
Know that this decision was made after considering what was best for our community. It is my belief that this will also be best for teachers and families. I am confident that it will serve all groups well.
Sincerely,
Kris Cosca