Monrovia Unified Updates Extended Dismissal Grading Policy

After students were dismissed in March, the Monrovia Unified School District (MUSD) concentrated efforts on establishing a distance learning framework to ensure academic progress and maintain student-teacher connection. 

While awaiting guidance from the California Department of Education, the district discussed the assignment of grades.

According to a statement from Superintendent Thorossian, “Our interest was, and is, to thoughtfully consider the policies we put into place as they may be necessary beyond the current closure. So, even as we work through the immediate concerns with teaching and learning, we have also been working on issues with long-term consequences such as grades.”

These are the guidelines MUSD developed in cooperation with the Monrovia Teachers Association:

Elementary Grading Practices

Grades are to be assigned and feedback given for workcompleted. Since elementary report cards are standards-based, as teachersdevelop and teach standards-based lessons, feedback is to be given and datacollected on gains made toward standards mastery. As work is assessed andfeedback given, a student may improve his/her grade.
For the final report cards, grades TK-third will be provided specific commentsthat communicate the success on the standards learned. For fourth andfifth graders, teachers will give comments and assign standards-based scores onthe most essential standard areas. Where applicable, teachers may use thecomment “standard not taught or assessed.”

Secondary Grading Practices

Students will be assigned work aligned to the statestandards during this quarter, focusing on projects and work that can becompleted online. As work is assessed and feedback given, a student mayimprove his/her grade for a final semester grade.

Third quarter grades should be used as a baseline. Nostudent’s final grade will be lower than the grade assigned at the thirdquarter. This is an opportunity for students to improve.

The assigned and graded work from March 17 to June 3 will be used to maintain and improve the student’s status from the third quarter.  Students may opt for a credit/no credit grading option until May 15. After that date, a student may submit an appeal letter to the instructor, who will submit the letter with his/her recommendation to the school principal.

The superintendent also encouraged families to tune in to Conversations with Ralph Walker at 3 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday. The show airs on YouTube and features Board of Education President Rob Hammond and Mayor Tom Adams, who share the latest local updates on COVID-19. Viewers can submit questions to kgemtv@gmail.com or by calling (626) 357-4974.

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