Grades for students enrolled in the Omaha Public Schools are based on achievement of content standards, which specify what students should know and be able to do. Standards are the same across schools and classrooms for the same courses in the Omaha Public Schools. These common grading practices are intended to ensure students have the knowledge and skills necessary for the next level of a course, the next grade or readiness for college or career.

Common grading practices provide specific, clear learning goals for families, teachers and administrators of what a student must know and be able to do to master the content of a course. They allow teachers to be consistent with grading and provide clarity for students and families as to what the grading criteria and expectations.

Teachers will grade students’ work using common grading practices.  Student assignments/assessments are scored based on rubrics. Rubrics are teacher-created scoring guides specific to an assignment, a skill, or a project and are based upon the levels in the proficiency scale for that course.

Students’ proficiency is based on a district-wide proficiency scale. Proficiency Scales are broadly written to allow teachers to use the same scale for multiple assignments/projects.

Teachers will place scores for formative and summative coursework in the Parent/Student Portal that are weighted at 35% of the final grade for formative and 65% of the final grade for summative. The final score for each category will then be averaged to obtain the student’s final grade.

At the end of a grading period for grades 3-6, the final scores in the formative and summative categories will be used to determine a student’s overall grade for the course. The overall grade will be determined using the Omaha Public Schools Grading Scale. Portfolios for grades K – 2 are used instead of the Infinite Campus grade book.

There are three types of coursework given to students. Coursework may be expected to be completed during class or outside school. The types of coursework are:

• Practice (0%) assignments are brief. They are done to learn a new skill or gain initial content knowledge, (e.g., student responses on whiteboards). Practice assignments are not generally graded for accuracy and are not a part of the grade. Practice work is at the student’s instructional level.

• Formative (35%) assessments/assignments are done for learning. They are minor assignments (e.g., a three-paragraph essay, written responses to guiding questions over an assigned reading). Formative assignments are graded for accuracy. Students may receive descriptive feedback which provides necessary information to improve their learning. Formative work is at the student’s instructional level and/or grade-level standards. It is suggested to have three to five formative assessments for every summative assessment. Formative assessments may be assigned to be completed at home or school.

• Summative (65%) assessments/assignments are major end-of-learning unit tests or projects, (e.g., a research paper, an oral report with multimedia, science fair project). Summative assignments are graded for accuracy. Summative assignments assess the student’s progress on grade-level standards. Summative assessments may be assigned to be completed at home or school.

Coursework Amounts
Coursework that is expected to be completed at home should average no more than ten minutes per day times the student’s grade level. These minutes reflect the total minutes of coursework per day for all subjects. This is a broad estimate that will vary drastically depending on the courses taken, the speed of completion of tasks, student ability to work independently outside of class, the number of study halls and the amount of time provided in class for coursework.

Redoing/Revising Coursework 
Students may be allowed redos and revisions of coursework for full credit during the unit of study based upon the teacher’s professional judgment and evidence collected throughout the unit. Scores for student work after retaking, revising, or redoing work will not be averaged with the first attempt at coursework or assessment, but will replace the original student’s score. 

Missing Coursework 
Work not turned in will be recorded in Infinite Campus as an M for missing, which calculates to a score of zero.

Late Coursework 
Students are expected to complete coursework on time. Late coursework may be accepted for full credit until the end of the unit based on professional judgment and evidence collected throughout the unit. Accepted late work will not result in a reduction, and the M (missing) will be replaced with the score earned by the student. The teacher or school may make exceptions depending upon student circumstances such as prolonged absences due to illness.