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Mrs. Grace Yen |
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Q&A- Policies & MoreFrequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
(Parents and Students) What is the grading policy? Grades will be based on quizzes, tests, homework (including homework quizzes), assignments (including POW-Problem of the Week and projects), classwork (including notebook, in-class work and participation), and some extra credit. Grades will be determined by the percentage of total points earned. Please refer to "Grading for Math" handout for detail information. (Parents and Students) What is the grading scale? A above 100% B+ 87-89 % C+ 77-79 % D+ 67-69 % F <60 % A 93-100 % B 83-86 % C 73-76 % D 63-66 % A- 90-93 % B- 80-83 % C- 70-73 % D- 60-63 % (Parents and Students) What are the Lab (Office) Hours? I am usually available during brunch and lunch. To be sure, check with me beforehand. (Parents and Students) What is the homework grading policy? Homework is assigned and checked daily, including on Fridays. Homework assignments are posted on my website and in the classroom. Homework will NOT be accepted more than one day late, unless due to absence. Each homework is worth 2 points and is graded for completion. Homework late for one day or incomplete will be given 1 point. Students will have a chance to ask questions and correct their homework in class. A homework quiz will be given occasionally without notice. For the homework quiz, students will be given up to four specifice problems from previously assigned homework. Students are to copy the solution from their homework onto the homework quiz paper. Homework quizzes will be graded for correctness. They cannot be redone. (Parents and Students) What are the homework guidelines? 1. Write your homework in your notebook. 2. Copy problems and then show all work. You don't need to copy problems for word problems but you need to use 5-step plan for all the word problems, unless otherwise indicated. 3. Write problems vertically, rather than horizontally. Fold your paper in half before beginning your work. See example posted in class. 4. Do all math neatly in pencil. 5. Skip lines between problems. 6. Circle or box answers. 7. Only use red ink pen for correcting. Correct at home for the odd- number problems with the keys in the back of the textbook. I will supply keys for the even-number problems in class. 8. Make correction next to the incorrect problem or at the end of the assignment. When making correction, show all necessary correct steps or redo the whole problem. Showing work helps you do well on the homework quizzes. 9. Answer story/ word problems in a complete sentence which contains all the important information. Use 5-step procedure for word problems unless otherwise indicated. 10. Use proper CMS heading as shown in the CMS Handbook. Please refer to "Homework Standards for Math" for detail information. Depending on the math class and difficulty level of the lesson, homework should take students 20-45 minutes of diligent, uninterrupted study. If homework is continuously taking longer than 45 minutes to complete, this is an indication that the student is struggling with the material and should seek teacher's help. Occasionally, when I am not able to finish the whole lesson, students should still try to self-study the unfinished part and attempt the homework problems and they will receive full credit the next day if they tried but could not finish the homework within a reasonable time. For their learning, after I finish the lesson the next day, they should go back and try to solve those problems again. (Parents and Students) What are the test and quiz policies? Tests will be given covering the whole chapter. They are usually worth 60 to 100 points. There are three kinds of quizzes. Regular quizzes will be given covering only a few sections of a chapter. They are usually worth 30 to 50 points. Warm-up quizzes are given almost daily at the beginning of the class and usually consist of one to four problems covering the material learned on the previous day. I will go over all the problems after the quiz, then students can come in during brunch and lunch time to re-take the quiz within two days. Pop quizzes will be given occasionally without notice. There is no re-take for pop quizzes. These quizzes differ from Homework Quizzes (see the homework grading policy). (Parents) How can parents help their child in math? Parents, you can help ensure that your child is successful in math this year by doing the following on a consisitent basis: - Check my website weekly to be aware of homework, test/quiz dates, and the due dates for projects and assignments. - Check your child's assignment book (CMS Handbook) to see that they are keeping track of all the assignments in each class. In my class, I write the assignments on the board and also post the print-out from my website. - Make sure your child have all the supplies ready for each class. For example, make sure they bring a sharpened pencil or enough lead. - Make sure your child does his/her daily homework. - Teach your child to be responsible for bringing their finished assignments to school. - Encourage your child to seek the help of the teacher or classmates when the course material is not understood. They can ask me questions in class or during my office hours. - Encourage your child to develop a good study habit for a daily lesson, which I call a three-step study method: Preview (before), focus in class (during), review and do homework (after). Encourage them to review textbook or their notebook and write summary in their notebook before they start doing homework. This will help them learn better from the homework and also do well on the warm-up quiz the next day. After they finish their homework, encourage them to preview the next-day lesson and answer the prompt in their homework notebook. This will help them focus in class and pay extra attention on the part they do not understand. (Parents and Students) What is the Extra Credit policy? Extra credit will be offered to the whole class, not individually, and will only count if the student has NO missing assignments for the quarter. Extra credit will account for no more than 2% of the total grade per quarter. (Students) What are the strategies to be successful in math? 1. Follow the classroom rules. 2. Listen and participate in classroom discussion and activities. 3. Take good notes using Cornell notes format (see Cornell Notes). 4. Do homework diligently everyday. 5. Everyday, review textbook or notebook before you start doing homework. Then write summary in your notebook. This will help you learn better from the homework and do better on the warm-up quizzes. After you finish homework, preview the next-day lesson and try to answer the prompt question in your notebook. This will help you pay more attention in class and have a deeper understanding. 6. Ask questions, in class and/or during my office hours. 7. Prepare for the quizzes and tests. Do all the problems in the Practice Tests/Quizzes. Review all the lessons from your notes and/or textbook. 8. Check my website everyday before you do homework, if you did not copy down the assignment from the board. 9. If you want more practice, do additional problems from the textbook. (Students) Why do I have to use Cornell Notes format? Taking Cornell notes help you organize your notes while you are taking them. It will save your time when you review your notebook for the quizzes and tests. (Students) How often are calculators used? Although a scientific calculator is required (see the "Required supplies and materials), it is only to be used on a few tests and quizzes when the calculation is too tedious. Students are NOT allowed to use calculators on most quizzes, tests, and homework. Calculators can be used for homework only when a problem shows a calculator symbol. However, they should bring calculators to class every day because sometimes we will be learning lessons requiring calculators such as trigonometry functions. (Parents and Students) What is the Test-Retake Policy? The test-retake policy is designed to help some students have a smooth transition to the new math level and help them learn from their mistakes. It is not to be treated as a back-up plan. CMS Math Retake Policy states as follow. Students who score lower than 72% on a test, will be given an opportunity to improve their grade up to 72% (not exceed 72%) according to the following schedule by quarters. *Note - the retake policy applies to TESTS only, not quizzes. *** SEVEN GRADE PRE-ALGEBRA A - For the first semester, these students may correct any test below 72%. For the second semester they may only correct two (2) tests per quarter. - all/all/2/2 *** SIX OR SEVEN GRADE PRE-ALGEBRA A/B - For the first semester, students in this course may correct two tests per quarter. For the second, semester, they may only correct one test per quarter. - 2/2/1/1 *** EIGHTH GRADE ALGEBRA 1A - 2/2/1/0. That means there is NO retake allowed in the fourth quarter. *** ALGEBRA AND GEOMETRY - 2/1/0/0. Notice that there is NO retake allowed for the second semester. Students who wish to re-correct a test must rework ALL missed problems using the following steps: 1. On a separate sheet of lined or graph paper, rewrite the original problem and correctly solve it. 2. Show all the work necessary to solve the problem, explaining every step completely. 3. Identify where mistakes were made the first time you took the test. 4. Submit the reworked problems with the original test within the given time limit as determined by the teacher. (Parents and Students) What are the required supplies and materials? The blue CMS assignment book (CMS Handbook) A single subject spiral notebook for warm-ups, notes, and homework (or binder with binder paper and subject dividers) Several sharpened pencils, or a mechanical pencil and a box of lead Eraser Pencil sharpener A red correcting pen Dry-erase marker (at least one) Six inch ruler A compass and protractor (for Pre-Algebra A/B and Algebra 1A only) A scientific calculator (estimated cost $10 to $16) with your name on it A folder or binder for handouts and loose papers Binder paper A pair of Scissors Set of washable markers and/or set of colored pencils (optional) Highlighter (optional) Donation item (optional)- Please donate ONE of the following items: a dozen of No. 2 pencils, a ream of white or color copy/printer paper, a box of tissue paper, one ream of graph paper, EXPO whiteboard marker (one or more), AA battery (one or more), or one box of Ziploc bags (any size). Thank you for your donation! (Parents and Students) What are the placement policies? Please refer to handout for the placement policies. (Parents and Students) What is the test/quiz take-home policy? All the tests and quizzes will be filed and kept in student's folder in school. According to the Math department policy, we do not allow students to bring their tests/quizzes home because the same tests and quizzes may be used again next year and we want to keep them in student's folder for the record-keeping purpose. If parents and students want to use the tests/quizzes for review purpose, they can view them in school or make an arrangement with the teacher. (Parents & Students) How soon will my homework grade be entered online? Every week, one holistic homework grade is entered. Usually, it is entered one week after the grade is calculated because I need to wait a few days for the absent students to make up their homework. So the grade may appear one to two weeks delay. For example, the grade for homework assignments during 4/1-4/5 might not be entered until the week of 4/15. (Parents & Students) How soon will my test/ quiz grades be entered? The test/ quiz grade will normally be entered about one to two weeks after it is given. Under most situations, I grade the test/ quiz within one week and then enter the grades during the weekend. However, for longer or harder tests/ quizzes, it may take me longer to grade and, consequently, it takes longer for the grade to be entered online. |
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