MEMORANDUM

 

Date:         February 15, 2011

 

Subject:    Grading Philosophy at Casady School

 

To:            Casady Faculty and Middle and Upper Division Families

 

From:        Chris Bright, Head of School

 

Over the past few months, the faculty and administration have been hard at work thinking through our approach to assessment. In conjunction with strategic conversations with the Board of Trustees and faculty, we have arrived at a plan to align our grading philosophy with the true challenge and standards a Casady education demands. During the ISAS visit in October, it was noted that our program is strong and prepares students for success in college and beyond. The visiting committee did recommend that we address the way we grade in terms of consistency across departments and grade levels. In addition, communication of those assessments with families and students is another area in need of improvement. 

 

Two years ago, the Upper Division department chairs and faculty determined that many of our courses warranted additional weight in calculating the grade point averages we send to colleges and universities. We assigned additional weight of .25 for honors courses and .33 to AP courses (including English IV). This move helped us communicate the challenging course loads our students were choosing in order to assist them in their college searches. We believe that this change has indeed helped our students secure places at excellent institutions nationwide and it has helped them in their quest to secure merit awards to the tune of $10.5 million over the past three years alone.

 

After much careful research and detailed analysis, we have further determined that the true nature of a Casady education warrants that more of our traditionally 'core' courses be assigned weight in line with our move two years ago. Twenty four courses will have weighting added to the calculation of grades. These courses are academically more challenging than the same courses offered at other schools in the area and the expectations of students in these classes are at an honors level. We know our students work hard and we believe this change will enable us to better communicate the work they are doing.

 

To improve our communication with parents about students' progress and assessments, we are aiming to open online access to grades and reports by the beginning of next school year. As we get closer to this date, we will be communicating with you about how the system will work and the kinds of information you should expect to see when you log on. Much is happening at the moment to lay the groundwork for online grade access, including training, database integration and the development of a new interface to improve communications between the School and you.

 

Among the many changes implemented in the past few years, we believe this is another, key step in the right direction to ensure Casady School's continuing excellent reputation and competitiveness. And, because of strong faculty and Board of Trustees' support, we are confident that these enhancements will reap benefits for our students for years to come.