• Reassessment Guidelines: Secondary Education

    In our ongoing discussion on grading practices that promote learning and mastery, the issue of retaking assessments has arisen. As a district, we recognize there are times when reassessments are necessary. 

    Reassessments are provided to:

    • support learning and recognize additional effort from our students to acquire the knowledge, or learn the skill or concept they have studied in class, even after it has been measured.
    • help a student who is struggling to master a skill or concept within the given assessment timeframe and provide additional time to learn something that was initially challenging to them and then recognize that within their grade.
    • encourage students to learn all prerequisite knowledge, skills, and concepts necessary in future units or courses and to demonstrate their knowledge on an assessment.
    • prevent a single poor grade from impacting individual goals in the course.

    As a district, we have worked to develop guidelines that provide an opportunity for our students to receive a reassessment when it is situationally warranted.  Simultaneously, we must develop skills we know our students will need when they leave our district and enter the workforce or higher education.  Skills such as time management, timely work completion, meeting deadlines, attention to detail, and seeking academic help and support in a timely manner are also important.  For these reasons, the following guidelines will be followed.

    Reassessment Guidelines

    • It is essential for our students to complete the practice and formative assessments their teachers require on-time for all assignments.  Students who complete the practice and formative assessments on time are eligible for a reassessment on the summative assessment associated with that information.  Students who do not complete their work on time, and do not complete the required work their teacher assigns, may not be reassessed on any assessment associated with that unit. 
    • Some assessments provide students with formal feedback prior to final submission.  Some examples include (but are not limited to), a processed essay, a processed writing assessment, a project.  If students receive feedback on the assessment in writing with adequate time to make the needed adjustments prior to the final submission, there will be no opportunity for a reassessment on that assignment.  Students were already provided an opportunity to improve their work, ask questions, and seek support prior to submitting the assessment. 
    • The last week of a marking period, semester, or course is earmarked for final assessment and submitting grades for the marking period, therefore, there will be no retakes provided for assessments that occur during the last week of the marking period. 
    • Midterm and final assessments measure previously assessed content to determine whether students have learned and retained the skills and concepts from the course.  Students have already had time for intervention when it was needed throughout the learning process.  Therefore, there are no retakes on a midterm or final exam.
    • The highest grade recorded in a gradebook on any reassessment will be a 90%. 
    • Middle school students may complete one (1) reassessment per course each marking period.
    • High school students in 18-week classes may complete two (2) reassessments per course.
    • High school students in 9-week classes may complete one (1) reassessment per course.

      

    Any student who wishes to retake a summative assessment, or a portion of it, 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 (3) days of receiving the initial graded assessment (the actual retake 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:

    • When the teacher enters a score for the first attempt, including “Missing” if a student has not submitted the assessment, the process for reassessment according to the district guidelines begins. Students have three (3) school days from the date the grade is entered in Infinite Campus to initiate a conversation with the teacher regarding a reassessment. 
    • In some scenarios a teacher may ask the student to retake the entire assessment, and in other scenarios, the teacher may ask the student to retake only a portion of an assessment where the deficiency exists.  This is at the discretion of the teacher.
    • If a request for reassessment is received beyond three (3) 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.

     

    3.  The teacher and student will engage in a re-teaching activity (this could include, but is not limited to supplemental reading, practice material, oral explanation, conferencing, etc.) and the teacher will determine a reasonable due date for the reassessment. This process includes feedback to the student to support learning.  This date will be clearly communicated to students and parents. Should a student fail to turn in the reassessment by that agreed-upon date, there are no further opportunities for submission.

    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 relearning 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 grade is 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.  

    Considerations for Advanced Placement (AP) Courses  

    • When taking an AP course, it is important for students and parents to understand, there are certain protocols that are not practiced 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.
    • Preparation/intervention activities will be independent.   The teacher will answer questions about the independent preparation and intervention activities.  This can occur via a Canvas module, email correspondence, Teams sessions, Lunch and Learn, or other types of informal arrangements. 
    • The maximum grade entered into the Infinite Campus gradebook on any reassessment will be a 90%.
    • AP students may complete one (1) reassessment per course.