2026-09-24 · Board Packet · Page 89

STUDENT GRADE  S  CHANGES  AND TRANSCRIPTS  POLICY 5126 
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 Los Alamos Public School District is required to establish a written policy for any written changes to a 
 student’s grade under NMAC 6.30.10.  ¶ 
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 Student transcripts are permanent records and shall be processed and archived by the high school 
 Registrar. NMAC 1.21.2.189  ¶ 
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 The Superintendent will establish regulations to implement this policy in accordance with any state and 
 federal law and regulations. 
 PURPOSE 
 The Board of Education establishes this policy to define the District’s philosophy and guiding principles 
 for grading and reporting student achievement. Consistent with the District vision and strategic plan, 
 grades shall serve students, families, and educators as an honest and meaningful communication of 
 learning. 
 PHILOSOPHY OF GRADING 
 The Board believes that a grade should communicate, as accurately as possible, what a student knows 
 and is able to do relative to grade-level standards and course expectations. A student’s academic 
 grade shall reflect demonstrated content knowledge and skills. Schools should support continued 
 learning by preserving meaningful opportunities for students to demonstrate growth and mastery over 
 time.   The Board affirms the professional judgment of teachers  .  , who know their content, their 
 standards, and their students best, and asks that this judgment be exercised in service of accuracy, 
 fairness, and student growth.  The teacher of each course shall determine the student's grade. The 
 grade assigned by the teacher shall not be changed by the Board or the Superintendent except as 
 provided by law, Board policy and administrative regulation. 
 GUIDING PRINCIPLES 
 Grading and reporting practices throughout the District shall be guided by the following principles: 
 1.  Accuracy and meaning.  A grade should be a valid reflection of a student’s learning.  Grading 
 practices should be designed so that grades communicate student achievement and mastery as 
 clearly and accurately as possible.  Practices that distort the academic meaning of a 
 grade—inflating it or deflating it for reasons unrelated to demonstrated learning—should be 
 avoided. 
 2.  Transparency.  Students and families should understand  how grades are determined and should 
 receive timely, clear information about academic progress so that they can act on it.  Student 
 e  E  xpectations should be communicated at the start of a course or grading period. 
 3.  Consistency and professional judgment.  Students enrolled in the same course shall be 
 evaluated in relation to common academic standards and course expectations. Educators are 
 encouraged to collaborate to promote consistency while retaining appropriate professional 
 judgment in instructional and assessment practices.  Consistency within a course or standard. 
 Collaboration among educators helps a given grade carry comparable meaning from one 
 classroom to the next.  Students enrolled in the same course should be assessed against the 
 same standards and expectations, regardless of section or teacher. 
 4.  Equity and fairness.  Grading practices should provide students with fair and meaningful 
 opportunities to demonstrate learning. Academic grades should primarily reflect achievement, 
 course standards and learning expectations.  A grade should reflect a student’s academic 
 performance and demonstrated learning, rather than circumstances unrelated to learning. 
 Students shall not receive grade penalties or rewards, such as extra credit, for non-academic 
 compliance like bringing supplies. Every student shall have a fair and meaningful opportunity to 
 demo nstrate learning.