Broadly speaking, I would like the lessons that I do with classes to 'count'. Most every lesson will have some document that the students complete and turn in. The way that I have traditionally graded these is with some version of a classwork/homework grade. Most students generally try to accomplish what I ask them to do, so my thought is that most students should get an 'A' for the day. Because this is a non-standard day covering material for students with widely varying backgrounds, I would like to have the opportunity to give a few extra points for some of the more challenging steps.
Historically, I would give A's to those who try to complete my work, and then mark down individuals who are 'goofing off', sleeping, not participating, being disruptive, etc. Because I do not know the students in these classes, I need to leave this for the host teacher.
Hence, I propose the following:
I will provide a spreadsheet with grades for all students who have turned in my assignment. The grades are based on these criteria:
95-97% - participated fully in class, attempted to do what I asked them to do, did not misbehave, etc. Turned something in to the dropbox, but with a fair number of errors.
98-104% - turned material into the dropbox and it was pretty good!
105% - essentially 'perfect' - excellent job. (At the beginning of the year, I might limit the extra credit to 101%, not wanting to 'mess up the curve' for a teacher just starting up the gradebook.)
Students who were present in class, but did not receive a grade from me, did not turn in a file successfully. I would suggest giving them a grade of 90-92%, assuming that they otherwise participated.
I would appreciate it if the host teacher kept an eye on the class and marked down students who did not appear to be participating in 'the spirit of the class.'
Feel free to use the grades that I supply as a starting point and scale them as you see fit. (I will try to match them to the level of the class and to the amount of time that was available, but the host teacher will have a better idea than I for what the end result should be.)
Absences: Every teacher will have their own policy for absences. One possibility would be to assign grades from the spreadsheet that I supply and then give 90-92% to everyone else who was present and 0% / missing to those who were absent. Then, when the student comes in to ask what they missed, the teacher might direct the student to the web page for the assignment (or to me), suggest that the student review the material and ask about anything that he/she does not understand, and then excuse them from the assignment. Students who do not come in to ask about what they missed, might continue with the 0% grade. With prior arrangement, students could also join another class to complete the assignment.
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