Reed


ACADEMICS RENAISSANCE PROGRAM GOLD CARD 3.7 GPA or higher; A or B in citizenship;and 0-1 unverified absences/semester BLUE CARD 3.0 to 3.69 GPA; A or B in citizenship; and No more than 2 unverified absences/semester WHITE CARD 2.50 to 2.00 GPA; A or B in citizenship; and No more than 3 unverified absences/semester The reward cards allow students to receive discounts in the student store and on prom tickets. In addition, the students receive one free homework assignment/class,attend special assemblies and early releases on Fridays. FINAL EXAMINATIONS The Washoe County School District has determined that every student must take a final exam in order to earn credit in a class. The rule states: "Semester tests are required of all students in all courses which award one half credit or more. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS." Final examinations are part of all college and university classes, and we feel that including them at the high school level is another effective method of preparing our students for university academics. ACADEMIC LETTER Reed High School rewards the student who maintains a 3.7 or better academic GPA. The student must be enrolled in at least the minimum academic load. The four semesters need not be consecutive. Cumulative GPA and citizenship grades are not considered. For each additional semester of a qualifying GPA, a bar and a certificate are earned. The letter will be awarded during the semester. GRADING AND REPORT CARDS Reports notifying parents of their student's progress in school are issued quarterly to each student who has been enrolled four or more weeks during the grading period. The responsibility for determining the grade rests with the classroom teacher. All grade reporting will be done on approved forms. The report will be distributed following the close of the grading period. ACADEMIC WARNINGS When a student is not making satisfactory progress in school, the teacher shall prepare a notice that informs the student that he/she is in danger of failing. The school administration will coordinate the R-7 notification to parents. Unsatisfactory progress is defined as a level of achievement leading to a failing grade or work that would cause a grade to deteriorate two full grades below previous performance. Example: A student who received an (A) on the grade report and now is doing (C) work would require a notification. The teacher will prepare failure notices at the end of the fourth week of the grading period. GRADES The basic grading system, grades 9-12, will incorporate the letter designation: A, B, C, D, F, and INC. For the purpose of computing grade point average, the letter grades will be transposed to the standard 4.0 scale; A(100-90%)=4.0; B (89-80%)=3.0;C(79-70%)=2.0; D(69-60%)=1.0(below 59%)=0. The Math department grading is as follows: Washoe County School District Mathematics Standards must be mastered in order for students to be successful in subsequent math courses; therefore, all Reed High School math courses will the aforementioned grading scale. The grades(S) and (U) may be used in special classes and will not be included in the computation of the grade point average. Subjects granting only ¼ credit are not computed for grade point average. INCOMPLETE Students who do not complete the work required for completion of a course of instruction may receive an incomplete (INC). Students receiving an incomplete have three weeks from the date of issuance of the report card to make up the work. An incomplete in the spring semester must be made up by the end of the third week in the fall semester. It is the student's obligation to make contact with the teacher to receive the assignment necessary to remove the incomplete grade. The teacher who posted the incomplete grade must provide the grade assignments that are to be completed within the prescribed three-week period. If the work is not made up, the incomplete becomes an (F) and the student receives no credit for the class. STUDENTS ENTERING LATE During the first four (4) weeks of the semester, a high school student may enter classes with the intent of earning credit and be allowed to make-up missed work solely at the discretion of the individual teacher. For that student who has not been enrolled in or attending any educational program that desires to enter a Washoe County School District high school after the fourth week of the semester,the student will NOT earn credit. The student may be enrolled for audit, may be counseled about registration for appropriate correspondence course(s), R-8 may petition for entrance into an alternative learning center, or may be admitted into Washoe High School, if enrollments are still possible into one of their learning centers. In the case of a student who has not been enrolled in or attending any educational program that desires to enter a WCSD high school extremely late in the semester, that student should be registered for classes at the beginning of the following semester. WITHDRAWAL GRADES A student withdrawing from the class prior to the completion of the course requirements will receive no credit for the class. A student withdrawing from school without transferring will receive a (W) and no credit. Students transferring to another school will receive a grade showing progress to date and no credit. If a student drops a class after eleven weeks, he/she will receive a failing grade at the end of the semester. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Plagiarism occurs when a student uses another writer' s work without giving credit to thesource. Learning to avoid plagiarism is a skill that students should master. Plagiarism of copyrighted material is against federal laws and school district policy. Plagiarism typically occurs in school situations the following ways: A student uses another' swords without using quotation marks around the material. A student uses another author' s ideas or information without giving credit for the material(known in the academic world as citing the source). A student does both uses the author' s words and ideas without citing the source. Cheating means gaining unfair advantage by using unauthorized information. Cheating is defined by but not limited to: Copying someone else' s homework, class work, or test answers; Allowing someone else to copy your work or test answers;using and kind of unauthorized device, study aid, or cheat sheet Possessing or viewing a copy of an exam beforehand; Sharing test information with students who have not taken the test; Changing your answers or someone else' s when correcting in class. Consequences for violations of the policy: No credit on the assignment in which plagiarism occurred; Lowering of the citizenship grade by one whole grade;and Probably removal from membership in or consideration for membership in honorary organizations such as the National Honor Society. ACADEMIC WRITING RUBRIC The following rubric is based on the Nevada State Writing Proficiency Rubric. It contains the same requirements, but has been clarified for student, parent, and teacher use. As part of our Northwest Accreditation goals, Reed High will be using this rubric in all academic disciplines. This is a holistic rubric, meaning the writing elements, R-9 such as organization, ideas, voice, and grammar, are scored collectively, as opposed to separately. The rubric is organized on a scale of 1 to 6: in order to pass, a student must receive a score of 4 or higher: A) Score Six (Adequate)shows some or all of the following characteristics: Is superior Development, organization and coherence are great Addresses the topic with originality, creativity, and depth of thought Language(word choice and arrangement)is used with a sense of control Commits few or no errors in grammar and sentence structure B) Score Five (Adequate)shows some or all of the following characteristics: is above average Development, organization and coherence are good Addresses the topic clearly using examples, details, and stories Language(word choice and arrangement)is used effectively Commits few errors in grammar and sentence structure C) Score Four(Adequate)shows some or all of the following characteristics: Is adequate Development, organization, and coherence are satisfactory Begins to use examples, details, and stories to address the topic Language(word choice and arrangement)is used adequately Commits some errors in grammar and sentence structure C) Score Three(Inadequate)is clearly flawed in some or all of the following: Is inadequate Not well developed, organized; poor coherence Simply LISTS information without examples or details; rambles on about the topic Language(word choice and arrangement)shows inconsistent understanding R-10 Contains consistent errors in grammar and sentence structure which do not get in the way of understanding D) Score Two (Inadequate)is clearly flawed in some or all of the following: Is inadequate Shows serious flaws in development organization or coherence Addresses the topic, but LISTS information Language (word choice and arrangement) is simple and shows a limited understanding Contains consistent errors in grammar and sentence structure which get in the way of understanding E) Score One (Inadequate)is clearly flawed in some or all of the following: Is inadequate Shows no development, organization, or coherence Mentions topic, but does not communicate the information to the reader Language (word choice and arrangement) displays few good qualities Overwhelms reader with errors in grammar and sentence structure.