GRADING POLICY FOR MR.

BECKER’S PHYSICS CLASSES

Evaluation of student performance will be determined in accordance with standard school academic
policies indicated in the student planner and in conjunction with the following grading schedule:

Semester Evaluation Percentage Breakdown

Assessments (quizzes/tests/projects) 45%
Class Interaction/Laboratory Experiences 30%
Homework 10%
Semester Exam 15%

 Student progress report/quarter/semester grades will be computed with precision to the tenth of
a percentage point, with letter grades being awarded in accordance with the official school
district grading policy. Any rounding-up of grades is purely at the discretion of the teacher and
will be considered for each student on a case-by-case basis.

POLICY FOR INCOMPLETE AND/OR LATE ASSIGNMENTS

Incomplete assignments will be evaluated as submitted, with zero credit awarded for non-attempted
or non-tabulated items. Late assignments will incur a penalty of one full letter grade (or 10% of the
total point value) for each school calendar day that the assignment is delayed. Partial credit will
be awarded for a homework assignment submitted up to one calendar week after its due date.
The teacher reserves the right to award zero credit for any assignments submitted more than a week
late and/or after they have been reviewed in class.

In the case of excused (lawful) absences, one day of grace will be allowed for each day of absence.
Assignments may be provided in advance of a lawful absence if requested by the parent/guardian at
least one week in advance of the absence and approved by the school administration. Submission of
advance/make-up work is required upon the return of the student to school unless extenuating
circumstances have occurred and have been appropriately documented.

 Successive unattempted and/or incomplete assignments may result in referral of student to

appropriate administrative personnel and/or parental/guardian notification

 No grace period for assigned work will be allowed for unexcused (unlawful) absences

(continued)
CHARACTERISTICS IMPACTING UPON THE EVALUATION OF ASSIGNMENTS

Characteristics impacting the scoring and evaluation of student performance include, but are not limited to,
the following factors:

 ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT: Class discussions, laboratory activities, and both regular and special
assignments provide several opportunities for active student involvement in the learning process

 COMPREHENSION: Understanding the nature of an assignment becomes evident to the teacher when
the student can directly convey clear and unambiguous responses

 COMPREHENSIVENESS: Thorough and specific responses to the objectives of an assignment assure

the teacher that students have a complete understanding of the assignment

 CREATIVITY: Use of the thought process to generate unique perspectives and/or reasonable solutions
to questions/problems demonstrates the ability of a student to think independently

 ORGANIZATION: Use of formats which demonstrate logical and continuous reasoning are indicative
of use of advance planning and careful thinking by the student

 PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE: Legibility, use of proper language, and aesthetics (neatness, effective
use of appropriate visuals, proper use of titles/labels/headings) enhance the readability of any work effort

 WORK QUALITY: both accuracy (correctness) and precision (consistency) are essential components of
every successful scientific work effort

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS FOR SUCCESS IN PHYSICS

 ring binder with dividers and pockets

 looseleaf paper
 graph paper
 unlined paper
 bookmarks or post-it notes
 solar scientific calculator
 metric scale/protractor set
 mechanical pencil
 non-smearing eraser
 colored pencils
 index cards

(Optional supplies: portable hole puncher, portable pencil sharpener, tracing paper, letter stencil, masking tape)

THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS

 On-time and regular attendance of class

 Active daily participation in class activities and discussions
 Consistent effort on in-class and homework assignments
 A quiet place for uninterrupted study to enhance concentration
 Perpetual preparation for in-class evaluations
 Seeking help from the teacher promptly and whenever needed
 A good night’s sleep each evening
 Lots of patience, practice and persistence!
(continued)
QUALITATIVE ASSIGNMENT EVALUATION CODES:
+ "Plus" corresponds to 100%(+/-) numerical grade; indicates extensive
effort/time devoted to assignment, or exceptionally superior understanding of the
assignment

+ "Check Plus" corresponds to 90%(+/-) numerical grade; indicates substantial

effort/time devoted to the assignment, or significant understanding of the assignment

 "Check" corresponds to 80%(+/-) numerical grade; indicates above average

effort/time devoted to an assignment, or moderate understanding of the assignment

- "Check Minus" corresponds to 70%(+/-) numerical grade; indicates average

effort/time devoted to an assignment, or nominal understanding of the assignment

= "Check Minus-Minus" corresponds to 60%(+/-) numerical grade; indicates

minimal effort/time devoted to an assignment, or negligible understanding of the
assignment

½ "Half" indicates an additional five percent (5%) numerical credit added to a

grade; usually implemented when assignment quality is between two standard
"check" grades

Numerical Letter
Percentage Scale
> = 96.5% A+
92.5%-96.4% A
89.5%-92.4% A-
86.5%-89.4% B+
82.5%-86.4% B
79.5%-82.4% B-
76.5%-79.4% C+
72.5%-76.4% C
69.5%-72.4% C-
66.5%-69.4% D+
62.5%-66.4% D
57.5%-62.4% D-
< 57.5% F

(continued)
ASSIGNMENT EVALUATION SYMBOL CODES:

"ANS" => Answer Not Substantiated

"BS" => Blind Substitution (missing physics equation)

"IAC" => Incorrect Angle Calculation

"ICF" => Incorrect Conversion Factor

“IGI” => Incorrect Graph Increments

"IMA" => Incorrect or Missing Answer

"IMF" => Improper or Missing Format

"IMU" => Incorrect or Missing Units

"INC" => Incomplete/insufficiently attempted assignment/no credit until assignment is completed

“ISG” => incorrect scaling of graph

"IWS" => Insufficient Work Shown

"LATE!" => Assignment submitted after its due date; ten percent (10%) daily penalty imposed until
assignment was submitted (excluding excused absences)

"MSW" => Missing Substitution Work

"NC" => No Credit awarded on assignment (due to being very late or already reviewed in class)

"NWNC" => No Work = No Credit (answers/calculations must be justified)

"NG" => No Grade awarded on assignment (usually due to unusual circumstances)

"QNA" => Question Not Answered

"QNW" => Question (or problem) Not Written

"RCM" => Re-Check Mathematical calculations

"RCR" => Re-Check Reading

"RDA" => Re-Do Assignment

"RDI" => Re-Do item

"RSAC" => Re-Submit for Additional Credit; all resubmissions must be submitted
NO LATER THAN THE FOLLOWING DAY to earn additional credit
Revised: 8/2022