San Francisco Unified School District and County Office of Education
Administrative Regulation 5121
Grades/Evaluation Of Student Achievement
This Administrative Regulation applies to the San Francisco Unified School District and the County Office of Education.
Definitions:
- Marking Period is a period of time in which performance or achievement is evaluated.
- Progress Report is a notification on the progress in a course/grade level up through a defined date.
- Report Card is an evaluation of academic performance issued at the end of the marking period.
The Superintendent or designee shall inform teachers of the district’s policy regarding grading, including expectations that grades shall be based on factors that directly measure students’ knowledge and skills in the content area and shall not include nonacademic factors.
Progress Reports and Report Cards
Parents/guardians shall be offered an opportunity to meet with their child’s teacher(s) to discuss academic progress and strategies to improve their child’s performance during the marking period.
A progress report will be provided to parents/guardians prior to the final grade posting for the course and may include reports of student progress on specific academic standards applicable to the course and grade level. Report cards displaying students’ final grades in each subject or grade level shall be distributed to parents/guardians at the end of each final marking period (semester/quarter depending on grade level.) Both progress reports and report cards will be in the form of written or electronic communications.
(cf. 6020 – Parent Involvement)
For each student in grades 9-12, the Superintendent or designee shall maintain a transcript recording the courses taken, the term that each course was taken, credits earned, final grades, and date of graduation.
(cf. 5125 – Student Records)
(cf. 6146.1 – High School Graduation Requirements)
Grades for Academic Performance
For grades K-5, students’ level of progress for each marking period shall be reported as follows:
O Outstanding
S Satisfactory
N Needs Improvement
For grades 6-12, grades for academic performance shall be reported for each marking period as follows:
| A | (90-100%) | Outstanding Achievement | 4.0 grade points |
| B | (80-89%) | Above Average Achievement | 3.0 grade points |
| C | (70-79%) | Average Achievement | 2.0 grade points |
| D | (60-69%) | Below Average Achievement | 1.0 grade points |
| F | (0-59%) | Little or No Achievement | 0 grade points |
| I | Incomplete | 0 grade points | |
|
Pass/No Pass (If P/NP grading option is approved for the course by Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent) |
An Incomplete shall be given only when a student’s work is not finished by the end of the marking period (semester/quarter) because of illness or a major life event that prevents completion of the class assignments necessary to complete course requirements in consultation with counselor and principal. The teacher and student must draft a plan for completion of the missed assignments to be signed by the principal, counselor, student, teacher and the parent/guardian, to be maintained in the student’s cumulative file. Assignments must be completed within the following semester or the grade will be calculated without the missing assignments.
Because of the more rigorous nature of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, honors, and concurrent postsecondary courses, students receiving a grade of A, B, or C in those courses shall receive extra grade weighting as follows:
| A | (90-100%) | Outstanding Achievement | 5.0 grade points |
| B | (80-89%) | Above Average Achievement | 4.0 grade points |
| C | (70-79%) | Average Achievement | 3.0 grade points |
(cf. 6141.4 – International Baccalaureate Program)
(cf. 6141.5 – Advanced Placement)
(cf. 6172 – Gifted and Talented Student Program)
(cf. 6172.1 – Concurrent Enrollment in College Classes)
Grades for Physical Education
Student performance in high school physical education courses shall be based upon evaluation of the student’s individual progress, attainment of goals in each instructional area, tests designed to determine skill and knowledge, and physical performance tests. (5 CCR 10060)
Pass/No Pass Grading
The Superintendent or designee may identify courses or programs for which students will earn a Pass or No Pass grade instead of a letter grade.
Students who receive a Pass grade shall acquire the appropriate semester units of credit for the course. Students who receive a No Pass grade shall not receive credit for taking the course Pass and No Pass grades shall not be counted in determining class rank, honors list, or membership in the California Scholarship Federation.
Peer Grading
At their discretion, teachers may use peer grading of student tests, papers, and assignments as appropriate to reinforce lessons.
Repeating Classes
With the approval of the principal or designee, a student may repeat a course in which they received a D or an F in order to raise his/her grade, but only if there is available space in the course at the site. Both grades received shall be entered on the student’s transcript, but the student shall receive credit only once for taking the course. The highest grade received shall be used in determining the student’s overall grade point average (GPA).
Withdrawal from Classes
A student who drops a course during the first six weeks of the grading period may do so with the permission of the parent/guardian/caregiver, counselor and teacher without any entry on his/her permanent record card. A student who drops a course after the first six weeks of the grading period shall receive the appropriate grade and credits based on the time and work completed in the course.
Grade Point Average
The Superintendent or designee shall calculate each student’s GPA using the grade point assigned to each letter grade in accordance with the scale described in the section “Grades for Academic Performance” above. The grade points will be calculated with the grades earned and credits associated with the coursework. The district will have multiple GPAs for a single student for various purposes such as college admissions, eligibility for financial aid, honors at graduation, and eligibility for athletics. Pass/No Pass grades shall not be included in the determination of a student’s GPA.
(cf. 5126 – Awards for Achievement)
(cf. 6145 – Extracurricular and Cocurricular Activities)
Each academic year, the Superintendent or designee shall provide to the California Student Aid Commission the GPA of all district students in grade 12, except for students who have opted out or are permitted by the rules of the California Student Aid Commission to provide test scores in lieu of the GPA. (Education Code 69432.9)
Please note that compare references, or “cf”, refer to CSBA model policies and do not necessarily indicate that the San Francisco Unified School District has adopted the referenced policy.