• At Cresthill, we are a Standards-Based Grading (SBG) school and focus on Colorado Academic Standards for assignment & grading foci and adhere to a growth-over-time mindset. Infinite Campus (IC) is our tool for communicating two different grades, one in regard to the "scholarly habits" of being a student (Work Habits), and another in regard to academic engagement (Content Knowledge). Most student endeavors (homework, quizzes, daily work, major assessments) will be scored using a "4, 3, 2, or 1". These numbers are not intended to be part of a mathematical equation to arrive at an average but to point to attainment (or, lack thereof) of a skill, knowledge, or ability. Infinite Campus "translates" these numeric representations into something many of us understand: letter grades. In essence, our numbers speak to the same thing and express the same information. And, as IC leans upon numbers to assign grade values, our grade calculators use 100 points as a framework for the grade numbers we enter in IC. The areas of the gradebook that you and your student need to focus on are the actual grades entered for assignments (below the assignment name and information) and the "in progress grade". DO NOT be confused by the "3 Ps" of "points, possible, and percent" as these, in no way, convey how your student is doing in that bigger, overall picture. Focus on assignments and what those scores reveal about that growth over time. In Progress grades are only a marker and a useful tool for reflection and discussion and do not tell the whole story.
• And, what about our advanced classes? Aren't they doing "next grade level" work? Well, no. It is a misconception that the Advanced English Language Arts classes are one year ahead. For example, the 7th-grade Advanced ELA curriculum is not the 8th-grade curriculum. If this were so, then we would need to weigh this class grade on a five-point scale (similar to a high school honors or AP class). All middle school ELA classes are taught at their respective state-level standards. How then do they differ? The Advanced ELA class differs from a regular ELA class in that it offers greater depth and complexity. The rigorous Advanced ELA class requires students to think analytically while expressing ideas clearly, and the independent novel study coursework, as well as classroom discussion, challenges students to a higher level of thinking. The independent novel studies help students in this class build stamina as they dig deeper into the concepts related to the associated unit and understand that concept with greater complexity. "Accelerated" classes, on the other hand -- that we find in our math department -- are working in a fashion that exhibits "next grade level" work and expectations;

If you have questions about Standards-Based Grading or the Infinite Campus gradebook in general, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Wakefield at mdwakefield@dcsdk12.org.