Impacts of Absences on Grades

If a student exceeds the absence limit for a semester or for the year on an annual promotion course, an asterisk (*) will appear next to the grade on the report card for the appropriate cycle. Even though the grade may be passing, no credit is awarded.

Impact of Cheating on Grades

Students who are found to be cheating on their final exams should be given a zero on the exam. This zero will be averaged into the final grade as zero and will have a significant impact on the final grade in the course.

This rule on cheating applies to all schoolwork. A student found cheating on any assignment or test will be given a zero.

Appealing Non-Credit Due to Absences

A school may not adjust the excessive absence limit used to deny credit. The asterisk (*) will continue to appear at each succeeding grading cycle.

If the student has exceeded the absence limit, the student will not receive credit for the course unless the passing average is appealed. If the School Attendance Committee decides to award credit for a passing average with an asterisk (*), then school personnel should remove the asterisk (*), allowing the credit to be awarded to the student.

Grade Changes

Teachers must initiate all grade changes and principals must approve any changes. Principals, counselors, or other administrators may not arbitrarily change grades issued by teachers. Grades may only be changed at the school where they were issued. Grade appeals may be addressed to the teacher and the principal. If the parent believes that the teacher has violated HISD or school policies and procedures regarding grading, and the teacher and/or principal do not settle the appeal, the parent may appeal to the appropriate regional superintendent.

The only reasons for changing a student's grade after it has been recorded are:

♦ If there were an error in the computation of the student's grade; or

♦ If an error were made marking the grade sheet.

All such changes must be initiated by the teacher assigning the grade and must be approved in writing by the principal and the rationale for the change kept on file. A principal may not arbitrarily change a grade. All changes must be made before the end of the next grading period.

After a cycle grade has been recorded, no additional class work may be accepted to improve a student's grade. If work assigned during the cycle was not completed, the student should receive an "I," and the grade changed when the work is completed within the required time frame.

Rounding a Grade

All grade averages with a remainder of .5 or above will be rounded off to the next highest number, including 69.5, which rounds off to 70. In order to receive credit for a course, a student must earn an average of 70.0 or better.

What Does Not Impact a Grade

Nonacademic considerations such as attendance or participation in extracurricular activities should not be used in determining grades.

Scores on the required TAKS may not be used in any way when determining any student's course grade.

Conduct "cuts" in a class should be recorded in the Conduct section of the grade sheets. Under no circumstance may conduct infractions be used to affect the student's academic grade.

UIL Eligibility

In order for a student to qualify for a grade and UIL eligibility, the student must complete a body of work equal to the appropriate proportion of the semester to represent the six-week or nine-week grading period with a grade of 70 or above.

·         6-week grading cycle: the student must have completed 1/3 of the course content in order to receive a grade

·         9-week grading cycle: the student must have completed ½ of the course content to receive a grade for the first cycle

·         AB schedule: the student must complete the entire course content in order to receive a grade at the end of the nine weeks

If a student has not completed the appropriate amount of course work, the student will earn an “I – Incomplete” and will be ineligible for UIL participation until the “I” is removed.

Clearing Up an Incomplete Grade

District policy states that a student who makes an "Incomplete" grade has until the end of the next grading period to make up the "I." A student who makes an "I" on the last grading cycle has until the end of the summer session to remove his incomplete grade. This applies to both cycle grades and final exams.

If an "Incomplete" cycle grade is not made up within the prescribed time frame, a grade of zero (0) should be given for each missing assignment and then all grades should be averaged to determine that cycle grade.

If an "Incomplete" final exam grade is not made up within the prescribed time frame, the grade reverts to a "0" and is averaged as such along with the cycle grades to determine the semester average.