eval

Your achievement grade will be calculated based on a total point system. Every assessment will have an assigned point value, though the number of points will vary, depending on the significance of the assignment. For instance, a quiz might be 20 points whereas a test might be 100 points. At the end of the trimester, points earned divided by points possible will represent the percent grade for the student. If a student earned 730 out of 800 possible points, that student would have a 91.25 grade average for the trimester.

Percents are converted into letter grades following the Cary Academy grading scale:
 * **A+** || **A** || **A-** || **B+** || **B** || **B-** || **C+** || **C** || **C-** || **D+** || **D** || **F** ||
 * **100-97** || **96-93** || **92-90** || **89-87** || **86-83** || **82-80** || **79-77** || **76-73** || **72-70** || **69-67** || **66-65** || **65 and below** ||

__Types of Assessments:__


 * Class participation** matters a great deal in this class. In order to create a genuine learning community, we must learn from each other. In the digital age, “class participation” is no longer confined to class meetings. However, class meetings are a wonderful place to share ideas, particularly if you are more of a verbal person. But if you make a thoughtful observation in an email, or pose a poignant question on a threaded discussion, or even share a useful resource via the class website, all of those things count for class participation. Basically, anything that you do that leads others in our learning community to a deeper understanding of the material at hand counts for “class participation” – and it counts just as much as a comment or question in class.

Approximately every two weeks, each student will receive a class participation grade. I will ask each student to complete a self-evaluation form that will look something like this:

I CONTRIBUTED TO LEARNING IN OUR CLASS IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS: //This duty will rotate so that each student gets a turn// //This duty will likewise rotate so that each student gets a turn//
 * Orally in class discussions/debates (example: )
 * By leaving thoughtful/analytical comments on the website (best ones: ___)
 * By asking (and at times researching and perhaps even answering) questions
 * Through my written reflections about the reading that I do for homework
 * Through Google Earth duty (providing geographic context to each place we study)
 * Through Art and Culture duty (providing that kind of context, where possible)


 * Current Events** -- students will keep a current events log and provide updates to summarize what they have learned every few weeks


 * Projects** (both group and individual work), **Essays, Tests, and Quizzes**