Knightdale High School

2024-2025 School Grading Plan

In the Wake County Public School System, we are committed to maintaining rigorous performance and achievement standards for all students and to providing a fair and consistent process for evaluating and reporting student progress that is understandable to students and their parents and relevant for instructional purposes.  Grades will be readily available through the Parent Portal of PowerSchool. Parents will be encouraged to use the portal and opportunities to gain access will be provided in a variety of ways and times to support access to grades.

The district's grading guidelines prohibit teachers from using grading practices which make it difficult, if not impossible, to recover from isolated incidents of non-compliance (e.g. a missed homework assignment or one low grade on a test during a marking period). Grading practices will be based on factors directly related to the learning objectives and will appropriately reflect students' academic mastery of their learning objectives.

The information below shares specific information about our school-wide grading practices. ALL grading practices are aligned to Board Policy.

The following are school-wide expectations for coursework and assessments:

Grading Categories: Categories and category weights for class assignments and PowerSchool Gradebook setup are as follows*:

• Assessments/Projects 40%
• Classwork 35%
• Quizzes 20%
• Homework 5%

*Foundations of Math 1, Math 2, Math 3 and Library Media Studies courses utilize standards-based grading scales.  See details under Department Specific Information below.

*Advanced Placement courses utilize the following grading plan:

• Major Assessments (Tests, Projects, Major Papers, etc.) = 70%
• Minor Assessments (Classwork, Homework, Practice Writing, etc.) = 30%

Formative assessments should be included in the Gradebook but should not be counted towards the student’s final grade in the class. This can be achieved by using unweighted grades for formative assessments or by unchecking the “include in final grade” box for the assignment.

• Non-content related journals will not be graded. Content-related journals may be graded.
• Suggested changes to PLT grading policies must be brought to Leadership.
• Teachers will update grades in Gradebook at least once per week.
• Teacher’s grading policies will be aligned with their Department’s policies.
• If the student does not submit an assignment by the previously communicated due date, it should be noted in the Gradebook with a “0” and a “Missing” indicator.
• Teachers must call all parents of those students who have failing grades or missing at least 3 or more assignments in a grading period and document those contacts in ECATS. A student may not fail if parent contact does not occur.

Exam Exemptions

Students in Grade 9-12 are exempt from exams based on the following criteria:

• Students must have a projected final grade of B or higher.
• Students must have 10 or fewer absences in the course.  Absences will all count equally when considering eligibility for exam exemptions.  Absences may be excused or unexcused.  College visitations will count as part of the 10 days.    
• Students cannot be exempt from state testing including field testing.

The faculty of Knightdale High School considers homework to be an important part of the educational program.  Homework must only be an extension of class work and afford students the opportunity to practice skills and apply concepts learned in the classroom. Students and parents will be informed of the specific homework requirements as well as the evaluation procedure for each course at the beginning of each semester by way of documents distributed by Knightdale High School teachers and staff. Homework will not count more than 5% of a student’s total quarter grade, as defined by Departments.

Students will be expected to make up missed work. The school-based grading plan shall include procedures to make up missed work for credit to a level as described by the plan. Professional Learning Teams (PLTs/PLCs) shall develop and consistently implement common grading procedures for missed work and will communicate the common grading procedures to parents and students in writing as directed by the principal. Grade penalty should be determined by PLCs and approved by the principal. At Knightdale High School, students will have at least one week from the communicated due date to submit late work for credit; individual PLCs may choose to continue to accept late work beyond this one week threshold, so long as the entire PLC is consistent in their practice. Any late work which is accepted by the PLC and which meets the PLC’s commonly determined criteria for proficiency cannot receive a grade below the minimum passing score of 60% or the equivalent point total.

For students at risk of academic failure, our school provides a prevention/intervention system that promotes successful completion and mastery of work. The system will include opportunities for additional learning, assessment of learning and grade recovery to support prevention and intervention efforts. PLTs will develop systematic ways for students to be re-assessed on their learning. Retakes and revisions may be allowed for students until the end of the quarter under conditions set by individual departments.  First and/or third quarter grades can be adjusted to a 59 if a student is successful with their Academic Recovery Plan in the 2nd and/or 4th quarters. All grade changes will be documented on the official Grade Change Form and submitted to the Data Manager for Principal approval.

Teachers should be aware of the district interpreter’s schedule and be prepared with documentation to communicate with parents in a timely manner.  

Progress reports for all courses will be provided to families midway between quarters.  

Knightdale High School nor WCPSS do not offer extra credit. Grades earned are a reflection of mastery of the content with numerous opportunities for improvement and remediation.

For specific information for individual departments regarding information such as grading timelines, number of assignments per quarter and types of assignments, please click on the department links below.