Lake City High School Mathematics Department – Shared Philosophy Statement
In Lake City mathematics classes:
A student's grade
will be a direct
reflection of their
learning.
We strongly believe that every student in a Lake City High School mathematics class can and
should learn all the concepts in their particular course at a proficient level. Because grades
are a primary communication tool regarding a student's progress, their grade must reflect
their current level of learning. This means that a student's grade will mainly be determined
by their performance on assessments. Homework, class work participation, or other related
activities, while crucial to their understanding, will have a very small impact on a student's
grade since these items are meant to foster learning; not measure it.
Students will have
multiple
opportunities to
demonstrate their
learning for all
concepts.
While we have high expectations for our students, we certainly understand that
everyone learns at different speeds. Therefore, students will have multiple opportunities
to demonstrate their learning for all concepts in a course. As students show growth on
these multiple opportunities, the most recent evidence of learning will be used to
determine a grade and will replace any old, prior evidence.
Teachers will
strategically use
both formative
and summative
assessments.
For students to reach profiency, they will need timely and effective feedback regarding
their learning. To provide this feedback, formative assessments will be used regularly to
gather information that will guide both teachers and students in their next steps in
learning. Because these formative assessments occur while learning is still forming, they
will have little to no impact on a student's grade. These formative assessments will
prepare students for summative assessments which will formally measure student
learning and largely contribute to a student's grade.
Teachers will
continually reflect
and collaborate to
improve our
assessment and
grading practices.
Lake City mathematics teachers will continually reflect and collaborate with colleagues
to effectively implement high-quality assessment and grading practices. By continually
striving to improve, we will ensure that these practices maximize student learning.