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Elementary Grades K-5 Grading Categories |
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| Content Area | INDEPENDENT ASSIGNMENTS | CLASS WORK | ASSESSMENTS |
| Career and Technology Education | 10 | 50 | 40 |
| Dance Education | 80 | 20 | |
| English Language Development (ELD) | 100 | ||
| Health Education (Grades K-1) | 10 | 50 | 40 |
| Health Education | 15 | 60 | 25 |
| Immersion (Grades K-1) | 10 | 50 | 40 |
| Immersion (Grades 2-5) | 25 | 35 | 40 |
| Instrumental Music | 10 | 60 | 30 |
| Mathematics (Grades K-1) | 10 | 50 | 40 |
| Mathematics (Grades 2-5) | 25 | 35 | 40 |
| Media Arts | 10 | 70 | 20 |
| Montessori | 100 | ||
| Physical Education | 5 | 70 | 25 |
| Reading and Oral and Written Communication/ Literacy (Grades K-1) | 10 | 50 | 40 |
| Reading and Oral and Written Communication (Grades 2-5) | 25 | 35 | 40 |
| Science (Grades K-1) | 10 | 50 | 40 |
| Science (Grades 2-5) | 25 | 35 | 40 |
| Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) | 10 | 50 | 40 |
| Social Studies (Grades K-1) | 10 | 50 | 40 |
| Social Studies (Grades 2-5) | 25 | 35 | 40 |
| Theatre Arts/Drama | 10 | 70 | 20 |
| Visual Art K | 20 | 70 | 20 |
| Visual Art 1-5 | 30 | 50 | 20 |
| Vocal and General Music K | 90 | 10 | |
| Vocal and General Music 1-5 | 10 | 60 | 30 |
| World Languages | 15 | 45 | 40 |
| Elementary Grades K-5 Grading Categories (CRI, Regional Schools, Regional Programs) | |||
| Content Area | INDEPENDENT ASSIGNMENTS | CLASS WORK | ASSESSMENTS |
| Adapted Physical Education Alt | 5 | 70 | 25 |
| Art Alt | 100 | ||
| Health Alt | 5 | 70 | 25 |
| Literacy/Reading Alt | 5 | 70 | 25 |
| Mathematics Alt | 5 | 70 | 25 |
| Music Alt | 100 | ||
| Science Alt | 5 | 70 | 25 |
| Social Studies Alt | 5 | 70 | 25 |
Reporting
In quarterly reporting to parents, a grade is used to indicate the performance of each student in relation to the attainment of learning outcomes and approved curricula.
Students and/or parents may request one additional opportunity to improve a score of 79% or below on each individual qualifying assessment, activity, or assignment that demonstrates knowledge of course content, skills, and standards. The higher grade shall be the grade of record. An assessment, activity or assignment is considered qualifying if the following criteria are met:
) The student completed and submitted the original assessment, activity, or assignment by the due date;
) The student participated in the teacher-facilitated re-teaching (before, during, or after school) within five (5) school days following the return of the original graded work. The intention of re-teaching is to promote student learning of the material. Re-teaching may include, but is not limited to, feedback on the original task/assessment, additional tasks assigned by the teacher, study packet, review session, whole or small-group instruction, computer tutorial, peer tutoring, or attending school or content-specific study sessions. The re-teaching does not have to be face-to-face; and
) Within ten (10) school days of receiving the returned original graded work, the student completed and resubmitted the new assessment, activity, or assignment.
) Final research reports and projects that culminate a unit of study, or final semester or marking period exams may not be reassessed. If the teacher determines that other class work, independent assignments, or assessments are not eligible for reassessment, that must be identified in writing at the time of original assignment. A teacher must offer a balance of assignments available for retake and may not exempt all assignments.
Make up work can be submitted up to the fifth school day prior to the end of the quarter to ensure teachers have time to grade all outstanding work.
A grade for each subject will be recorded on the report card for each student enrolled for 21 school days or more after the start of the quarter.
General Education teachers must work collaboratively with Special Education Case Managers to review grades of students with disabilities to support student learning needs and to monitor and report student progress accurately.
When a course is added to a school after the first day of school, the scheduler will create course sections for the course, update grading patterns and contact Student Applications to update the gradebook for the newly created sections.
Pre-Kindergarten
) Grading and reporting in pre-kindergarten is intended to provide parents and teachers with information that reflects the child's developmental progress and mastery of the skills, knowledge, and behaviors based on the Maryland state standards (Pre-K Maryland College and Career Readiness Standards).
) Documented formative assessment data should be compared by teachers and paraprofessionals to developmentally appropriate rubrics to support teachers in identifying the level descriptor for each skill that is most consistent with the documentation and evidence collected. Developmentally appropriate data collection includes observations, anecdotal notes, portfolios/work samples (no worksheets), formative assessment checklists, performance-based tasks, and parent input/reports. This information is for classroom assessment purposes to document student growth throughout the year. Developmental growth should be documented based on a variety of evidence collected over time by teachers and paraprofessionals for identified skills, knowledge, and behaviors, as determined by the Early Childhood Office. Evidence must be analyzed and compared by teachers and paraprofessionals before determining a student's growth. Children should never receive a rating based solely upon one piece of evidence.
) Student developmental growth and artifacts will also be shared with the parent(s) during conferences which are held twice per year.
) When displaying children's work, the display should include the developmental progression of the standard. All student work should be celebrated. Teacher feedback should not be present on student work as there is no scoring rubric in pre-kindergarten.
Recording
Teachers will maintain a record of each student's work, progress, and attendance in the student information system. Student attendance will be recorded on a daily basis. The Principal must appoint a contact person for recordkeeping and grading where there is a teacher vacancy.
Teachers and schools will maintain records of student progress. It is expected that teachers will enter the numeric grade for student work into their electronic gradebook weekly and return that work to students within ten (10) school days of the due date. However, it is recognized that to provide meaningful feedback to students, teachers may not be able to read/review and post the grade within ten (10) school days, and, on those assignments, teachers may provide written notice on the rubric or assignment with a projected date that grades will be returned to students. Make up work can be submitted up to the fifth day prior to the end of the quarter to ensure teachers have time to grade all outstanding work.
Assignment grades can be synced from the learning management system (LMS) to the student information system or entered into the student information system.
If lawfully absent students in Grades 2-5 return to school near the end of the first, second, or third marking period and do not have sufficient time to make up the missed work, an “I” (incomplete) grade will be assigned. The “I” must be resolved by the next marking period. The “I” cannot be recorded in the 4th quarter. The “I” is a placeholder with no grade point average value.
Teachers will grade and give a score for all student assignments in Grades 2-5, when appropriate, including class work, independent assignments, written assignments, projects, and labs. Teachers shall assign a minimum grade of 50% to assignments or assessments for which the student completed the entire assignment and made a good faith effort. Good faith effort is determined by the teacher as evidenced by the student displaying persistence, striving for accuracy, time on task, and/or trying an alternative method to solve a problem (which might not be accurate). It is also a display of thinking as a student works to sort through ideas, apply context or figure out how to solve problems. If a student does no work on an assignment, the teacher shall assign a grade of zero.
Principals/designees are responsible to oversee the entry of numerical grades each week in the student information system starting at the 10th day of school.
) The classroom teacher must record a minimum number of numerical grades each week in each subject per this chart:
| Meeting Frequency (number of sessions per week) | Minimum number of grades to be recorded each week |
| 3-5 sessions | 2 |
| 1-2 sessions | 1 |
) Grades must be recorded quarterly in each category (class work, independent assignments, and assessments).
) A minimum of four (4) grades must be recorded in grading categories of 20% or greater weight each quarterly marking period.
) The overall gradebook must have the minimum number of grades to be recorded each week per the chart above.
) If a course meets only once a week, the minimum of four (4) grades must be recorded in the grading category of the highest weight and the remaining grades dispersed among the remaining categories.
Minimum number of grades per week exemptions per course: Due to limited time with students and the nature of the work assigned, the following subject areas are exempt from the minimum number of grades per week but must comply with the minimum of four (4) grades per quarter in grading categories of 20% or greater: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and Elementary Physical Education, Elementary Arts (Music, Band, Orchestra, Visual Art, Dance, Drama, Media Arts) and Elementary English Language Development (ELD) classes.
Pre-Kindergarten will not utilize the student information system for grade reporting. Designated data collection strategies will be implemented.
Teachers will return graded papers and assignments within ten (10) school days of submission to provide ongoing, timely feedback to students and parents.
A student will receive a zero for assignments, tests, or quizzes when any of the following occurs:
) A student has cheated on a test, quiz, or assigned project;
) A student fails to produce work within an assigned timeframe;
) A student who has been lawfully absent fails to produce make-up work in a reasonable timeframe, which the same number of school days as their lawful absence as defined in Administrative Procedure 5113 – Student Attendance, Absence, and Truancy; or
) A student has been unlawfully absent.
If a teacher determines that the student did not attempt to meet the basic requirements of the task, assignment or assessment, the teacher may assign a zero. This does not preclude teachers from giving daily markdowns to give students every opportunity to complete an assignment before giving a zero for the assignment.
Grading categories and grades will not include systemic assessments that are a part of the benchmarking measures.
A consistent grading scale must be used when entering assignment scores.
) Teachers must enter the assignment score and earned scores.
) Since PGCPS uses a weighted gradebook, the student information system will automatically calculate both the percentage for the individual assignment and the weighted percentage for the entire category.
) Teachers must never mix entry types within a category (percentages, whole numbers) within a grading category (class work, independent assignments, assessments). Combining the two (2) in a gradebook skews the data.
Social Skills and Work Habits will each receive class work grades only. Grading categories are not included for these courses and will not be included in the student's GPA nor be considered for Honor Roll. Teachers will give one (1) grade by Quarter 1 Progress Reports and one (1) grade within the first two (2) weeks of each of the remaining quarters. This grade will stand and serve as the default grade. The teacher will update this grade whenever a change is noted in the student's performance.
A change to the grade that occurs after the marking period ends but before the grading window closes shall be called a “grade override.” The grade resulting from the change shall be called the “new grade.” The grade initially recorded but later changed shall be called the “old grade.” In the event a student's quarter grade needs to be adjusted, a teacher may override the calculated grade. Override grades should not be lower than the calculated grade.
) Grade Overrides Permissible – If the following conditions are met, Grade Overrides are permissible:
) The teacher has complied with grading and reporting procedures;
) The new grade more accurately reflects the student's performance during the grading period than does the old grade; and
) The teacher can support the change by producing, upon request, sufficient documentation to show the new grade more accurately reflects the student's performance than the old grade. The teacher is required to retain for one (1) additional school year and make available for inspection any and all documents and/or materials that the teacher contends support the grade override. If the teacher leaves PGCPS all documentation shall be given to the school principal.
) Grade Override Prohibition – Grade overrides may not be used to mitigate the result of a teacher's failure to comply with grading and/or reporting procedures and/or a teacher's failure to comply with grade change procedures. In cases of an error, teachers are required to follow the grade change process (see Administrative Procedure 5116).
Entry of Grades
Teachers must adhere to the grade reporting timeline as published annually in the staff portal.
All students in an assigned teacher's course must receive a grade during the end of the quarter grading window if enrolled 21 or more school days in the course.
Principals/designees are responsible for ensuring that all grades are submitted prior to the closing of the grading window.
Grade managers are responsible for identifying teachers who fail to post grades prior to and after the closing of the grading window. As a general practice, grade managers may not enter grades for a teacher in the case of a teacher absence; however, in emergency situations, for elementary school only, a grade manager may enter grades for a classroom with written approval by the Chief of Schools. The grade manager must run a “Failure to Post” report and submit it to the Principal within 48 hours following report card grading windows.
Principals/designees are responsible for storing a “Failure to Post” report for a period of four (4) years in the Principal's office.
After the closing of the grading window but prior to the grade manager reporting that the grading file is “ready to print,” the grade manager must complete a Post-Cutoff-Date Correction entry for students whose grades were not reported during the grading window. The grade manager must collect documentation demonstrating how these grades were provided and include it when submitting the “failure to post” form.
After the grade manager has reported the grade file is “ready to print,” all subsequent grade changes must occur using the electronic PS-140 form. For more information regarding the grade change process, see Administrative Procedure 5116 (Grade Change Authorization and Appeals).
The purpose of the honor roll program is to recognize and honor elementary students who have attained outstanding academic success. The district-wide Honor Roll is designed to provide positive reinforcement that inspires all students to strive even harder and perform at their highest level in all subjects. All schools will implement this honor roll system that recognizes students for high academic achievement at the end of each marking period during the school year. Schools are required to recognize students for performance at two (2) levels: Principal's Honor Roll and Honor Roll.
Students in Grades 2 – 5 who qualify for each level of honor roll will be identified by the Department of Technology Application – Student Support based on grades entered on student report cards in elementary schools. The following criteria will be used to identify students at each level:
Principal's Honor Roll: Students with at least a 4.0 GPA.
Honor Roll: Students with at least a 3.0 GPA.
Interim progress reports must be issued for all K – 5 students at the middle of each quarter. Teachers may also issue additional interim progress reports to indicate a significant change in student attainment of learning outcomes or to encourage students to continue their satisfactory progress. Individual schools may decide to issue interim progress reports with even greater frequency on their own but not using the student information system.
Progress reports do not have to be issued to Community Referenced Instruction (CRI) Special Education students and Pre-Kindergarten students.
Students receiving English Language Development (ELD) services will not receive a progress report grade in the ELD course.
Teachers must notify parents in writing when their child is in danger of failing at any time during the grading period, even if the Interim Progress Report period established by the school system has passed. Additional communication should be provided to parents if a student receives more than one (1) letter grade reduction between quarters. Students will receive the grade earned, regardless of notification.
Report cards for elementary schools will be distributed on a quarterly or nine (9) week basis.
Pre-Kindergarten
Report cards will be distributed twice a year. The report will contain work samples, including a self-portrait, name sampling, writing sample, art sample and an assessment report for pre-kindergarten students.
Teachers must submit reports to Principals for review and approval prior to distribution. A copy of each child's report is to be maintained in their cumulative folder.
The following information will appear on the pre-kindergarten report card where applicable to the grade level:
) School Name
) Course Titles
) Course Grades Earned
) Student Grade Level
) Absences from School
) Tardiness from School
) Teachers' Names
) ELD courses
) Comments
By the end of the first grading period, teachers in elementary schools will identify those students whose progress suggests that a parent conference should be conducted in the best interest of the student and their achievement and school performance. Teachers will recommend a conference to the parent and may refer the parent to the Professional School Counselor for scheduling the conference.
Parent conferences are encouraged at any time during the school year if the conference will enhance the parent's understanding of and support for their child's schoolwork and school performance.
If a parent indicates to a school or PGCPS employee that they wish to inspect their child's instructional materials or school work, the parent should be instructed to submit a written request to the Principal. Once the written request is received, the Principal will arrange for a meeting with the parent to come into the school to review the instructional materials or school work, when available. School principals shall adhere to the guidance provided by the Division of Academics regarding the steps to follow for parent/guardian review of instructional materials.
Outstanding Obligations for Educational Materials
The student or parent is responsible for paying for any educational materials such as textbooks or laptops assigned to the student that are not returned or are damaged. Reimbursement fees for lost or damaged educational materials collected by the school must be remitted to the PGCPS Accounting Office. At the end of each school year, school staff will provide notification to the parent that an obligation is owed. For students who are on Free and Reduced Meals, parents may request a fee waiver for a portion of the cost. Report cards and final grades may not be withheld due to outstanding financial obligations. PGCPS strongly encourages all financial obligations to be fulfilled before a student's senior year.
COMAR 13A.03.02.08
The Office of the Chief Academic Officer will be responsible for updating these procedures as needed.
September 1, 2009 (Revised)
January 1, 2010 (Revised)
September 1, 2010 (Revised)
July 1, 2013 (Revised)
August 9, 2014 (Revised)
August 15, 2026 (Revised)
September 24, 2018 (Revised)
August 19, 2019 (Revised)
September 21, 2020 (Revised)
September 29, 2021 (Revised)
August 22, 2024 (Revised)
July 1, 2025 (Revised)
August 26, 2026 (Revised)
August 26, 2026
