Thank you parents for submitting your surveys! Once submitted, you responses were anonymous, so I was not able to respond to your questions individually. Here are responses to some common themes that parents were asking about:
Retakes? Extra Credit? How to raise grade?
For math there will be no retakes. The reason for this is because students are tested weekly
(every Wednesday), and this gives them an opportunity to show mastery of new
material and old material. The
best way to raise an overall math grade is to complete the extra practice given
and use notes, textbook, and online tutorials to master the concepts that have
low scores. Students can
expect to see many of the same problem types on future tests.
For science, there will be no retakes. However, students will have
opportunities to raise their grades by completing lab activities and future
tests. The first science test had
such a large effect on the overall grade because it is weighted as 90% of their
overall grade (summative assignment), and it was the only test at the
time. Homework and other formative
assignments are 10% of the overall grade.
Since then, students now have completed their first summative lab (Fizz
Lab) and it was scored like a test.
Future science chapters will include an essay section, and a vocabulary
section, so it will be worth more summative points compared to Chapter 1.
Material Covered on Tests – Science vs. Math
Math tests will be each Wednesday, and will test what was
learned in class from the previous Tuesday until Monday. It will also include review problems of
key concepts/lessons from previous lessons and chapters. There will now be between 12 and 18
problems on each math test.
Science tests will have two sections. The first section will cover main ideas
and will be in essay/short answer format (4-5 questions). Two days before the test, I will give a
study guide to the students to help them prepare for their responses. We spend class time filling out the
study guides using notes, homework sheets, and the textbook. Students also quiz each other on the
questions. Students then can create a note card (front and back) with
information that they can use on the test (We did this for the Ch.1 Science
Test).
Homework Scores vs. Test Scores: Very different
Homework is very important to complete, because it is the
practice that students need to do well on the weekly test. However, homework is only 10% of your
child’s overall grade. For
students that are completing homework daily, but are doing poorly on tests, I
would recommend checking with them to make sure they are completing their
homework correctly. Students need
to check their answers as they complete problems (do not wait until the end of
the assignment) to prevent practicing problems incorrectly. Please refer to the homework standards
on my website and in your child’s binder.
Credit for late work
Currently, I have been giving full-credit for late
assignments to help students with the transition into 6th grade. For October through Trimester 2, late assignments will only
receive 50% credit. For trimester 3, late work will receive no credit. Absent work
will always receive full credit if turned in within 5 days.
I hope this information helps. If you have any further questions, or the above responses did not answer your question, please email me and I will get right back to you.
Thanks,
Jacob Blake