Posted: April 22, 2020
Dear Camas Community,
Thank you for your patience as we have awaited further guidance about how to assess student learning for the remainder of the school year. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) convened a task force to consider the challenge. Our staff has been working diligently to create meaningful learning experiences for your students. They also want to provide relevant and helpful feedback to each student in their growth journey. Trying to determine an equitable way to assess student learning during these extraordinary times is very challenging. We appreciate the thought and care that went into this guidance, which you can access at Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance & Resources: https://bit.ly/2KDuAgR.
Below is a summary of how our district will assess student learning for the remainder of the school year. There is a bit of an adjustment to our high school model based on OSPI’s guidance. Your student’s schools and teachers will be communicating more details with you in the weeks to come. Tomorrow, we will be sending a survey link to share feedback about the remote learning experience to date. We’re hoping you can share what’s working and any feedback about how we can improve.
Sincerely,
Jeff Snell, Superintendent
Camas School District
Kindergarten through 5th grade: During this period of remote learning, each grade level team at every elementary school has identified essential standards for instruction beginning May 4. Grading and feedback for our K-5 students will only be for those essential standards that each grade level team has identified. These are the same essential standards that are being used by teachers to design learning experiences for their students.
As indicated in an earlier communication, elementary school report cards will be completed at the end of the school year in June, like in previous years. For the third trimester, to align with OSPI’s expectations, each student will receive a mark of 2, 3, or 4 for the essential standards identified for this period. The language and rubric to be used for a 2, 3, or 4 are those currently displayed on the report card. Standards that were not addressed (those not identified as essential) will be left blank.
Our practice of teaching and learning continues during this time and our teaching staff is committed to providing engaging learning opportunities for each student and family. Students are expected to participate and engage in the remote learning activities that are being provided by classroom teachers and specialists. Teachers
Middle School: Final grades during remote learning for middle school students will be a pass or incomplete for non-high school courses. Middle school students taking high-school level courses will be graded in the same manner as high school students (see below). We will provide continuous learning through the end of the school year and learning feedback to students and families about progress made on prioritized learning standards. This feedback will be used to help students transition into learning next year.
High School (including any middle school classes for high school credit): We will provide continuous learning for each student. Students will be awarded letter grades in the C to A range, or receive an incomplete. Students have the opportunity to raise their grades from whatever their grade was on March 13, 2020, our last physical attendance date. That grade will be the baseline grade for the student moving forward. No grades will be lowered below that baseline grade if students engage with remote learning opportunities offered by their teachers. Teachers will assign grades or assign an “incomplete” for students that cannot engage in an equitable way. We will continue to provide multiple ways for students to engage. In the event an incomplete is assigned, there will be opportunities for students to convert that incomplete to a grade after the school year concludes.
