44-33. Grading Practices
44-33.1. Teachers Grading Responsibilities.
Teachers are responsible for regularly assessing student progress, notifying students and parents of student progress and for determining students’ grades in the subject area or activity for which the teacher is responsible. Teachers shall exercise their independent professional judgment in developing their grading practices. They shall determine the number, type, weighting and frequency of student assignments and tests or other assessments that are used to determine individual course grades. In making that determination, Teachers shall follow the grading guidelines established in Article 44-33.2 and district policies on grade changes, grade point averages and grade band values in accordance with Article 44-33.2, Teachers’ grading practices must be published at the beginning of the course and must be clear to students, parents, administration and staff.
44-33.2. Grading Practice Guidelines.
CPS and CTU shall form a joint task force of 10 educators (five appointed by CPS and five appointed by CTU) to develop CPS professional standards and guidelines for teacher grading practices, e.g., recommended frequency and sequencing of assessment, number of assessments per quarter etc. These grading practice guidelines shall require a coherent approach to grading practices within schools, grade bands and content teams, the use of CPS electronic parent portal “Gradebook” or other electronic system for housing student grades and notifying students and parents of assignments, assessment and grades. The taskforce shall develop the guidelines by consensus to the extent possible and, where not possible, by majority vote of the taskforce members. The taskforce shall issue guidelines as soon as practicable, but in no event later than May 15, 2017, which principals, evaluators and network administrators shall use to guide and assess teachers’ grading practices.