Grades+-+Does+it+count?

=//Policies vary by grade level, as there are various factors to consider://=
 * Students eligible for academic G&T have typically already achieved grade level proficiency, particularly in their area of strength.
 * If they are to be assessed according to grade level standards, the grades would be automatic A's.
 * If students perceive that their additional assignments for G&T classes have negative impact on their grades, this contributes to a devaluing of G&T work.
 * In such cases, students may become risk-averse and prefer to simply refuse G&T opportunities rather than risk "ruining" their high average.
 * Students being instructed at their level of readiness will not be typically receiving all A's, unless they are expending significant effort.
 * Should they be penalized for being advanced? Why should they be working harder than their peers if they are not guaranteed higher grades?

//These arguments seem to support __ungraded__ G&T work.//

=//However...//= //These arguments seem to support accountability through __grading__ of G&T work.//
 * Students who find that their G&T work is not graded may realize that there is no clear accountability for how they spend this time or what effort they invest.
 * Some students may use this as a rationale to work to a level that is mediocre - or worse.
 * If they have already received A's for their regular classwork to encourage them to take on additional challenges of G&T, this might be seen as a "free pass" to avoid regular class-time and yet not work to ability in G&T.
 * After all, why work if it doesn't count?

= We expect G&T students to strive for continual academic growth. = At MTES, particularly in the lower grades the G&T work does not impact classroom grades. Through team-teaching and coordination of differentiation, students will be encouraged and acclimated to continually progress. As G&T students reach 4th and 5th grade, however, there are increasingly frequent opportunities for G&T work that supplants regular classroom instruction. As students take on challenges that replace typical grade level assignments, the completion and quality of those completed assignments will be considered as a contributing factor in grade calculation.
 * Often the G&T teacher will confer with the grade level teacher in grading specific assignments.
 * This maintains a perspective weighing both the higher expectations of G&T and the comparison to regular grade level performance.
 * Sometimes, particularly during team-teaching, the classroom assignments will be tiered to various levels of challenge, to meet the needs of the students in the class.When G&T work is taking the place of regular classroom work, such as with pull-out novel units, the related assignments will be assessed and weighed as part of the students' grades.
 * Often in such situations, there are students who are not GT-identified, yet appropriately participate in the more challenging options.
 * In cooperative assignments, collaboration is often based on interest or aptitude, rather than GT-eligibility.

//The accelerated replacement mathematics classes which meet every day are graded according to the high expectations and instructional readiness of that group.//