Grading Policy

Dallas ISDs grading policy recognizes effort-based learning, provides coherence.

In the 2008-2009 school year, Dallas ISD began using new grading procedures that better reflect the more rigorous and effort-based learning philosophy adopted by the district to improve student achievement. The districts grading policy and procedures also provide the parameters and guidelines for ensuring fair and credible evaluation of student learning from classroom to classroom and school to school across the district.

The policy holds students accountable while providing them with limited opportunities to recover from short-term failure, which is recognized by several studies as one of the factors for long-term student failure. The policy also recognizes that not all students learn at the same pace and emphasizes mastery of knowledge and skills whether it takes place at the beginning to the end of a six-weeks grading period.

While the policy provides certain standards across grade levels, teachers and principals will have the opportunity to develop the grading procedures for each subject, grade, or school, such as the grade penalty or reduction for work that is not completed or not completed on time. Grading procedures become more stringent and student accountability increases with every grade level.

The districtwide grading procedures duplicate the efforts many of the districts best teachers already have been using in their classrooms to improve student achievement. The new procedures were developed as directed by board policy by a committee of teachers, principals, and instructional support staff.

The districts goal is to fully prepare students for college and the workforce, not to replicate college and the workforce in kindergarten- through 12th-grade setting.

Official District Grading Policy