2026-09-24 · Board Packet · Page 93

STUDENT GRADES AND TRANSCRIPTS  POLICY 5126 
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 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. 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. 
 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 
 expectations 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. 
 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. 
 APPLICATION ACROSS PK-12 
 These principles apply uniformly across the District and are implemented in developmentally 
 appropriate ways at each level. The form that grading and reporting take—for example, 
 standards-based reporting in the elementary grades and letter or percentage grades in the secondary 
 grades—may differ, but the underlying commitments to accuracy, transparency, consistency, equity, and 
 support for learning remain constant from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12. 
 TRANSCRIPTS 
 Student transcripts are permanent records and shall be processed and archived by the high school 
 Registrar. 
 DELEGATION TO THE SUPERINTENDENT 
 The Board directs the Superintendent, or designee, to develop, maintain, and communicate 
 administrative regulations and school-level procedures that put this policy into practice, including the 
 development of specific grading scales. 
 Legal References: