Implementation Policy

Teacher autonomy, gradebook structure, and data management

Section 9

Teacher Professional Autonomy

The model's formal recognition of teacher judgment as a grade component

Philosophy of teacher discretion

A core design principle of the holistic model is that teacher professional judgment is not merely permitted — it is formally built into the grade structure. The Teacher Conviction component of the Learning Verification category exists precisely because no algorithm can replace the judgment of a credentialed educator who has met with a student in scheduled sessions across an entire semester. That accumulated professional knowledge is a legitimate form of assessment evidence.

Throughout the model, teachers are granted discretion in multiple areas: punctuality scoring, preparation scoring, makeup meeting point restoration, Regular Engagement scoring when DDF and digital textbook data conflict, and the Faith-in-Action partial credit determination. This discretion is an explicit design choice that recognizes teaching as a professional relationship, not a mechanical process.

Teacher discretion — documentation requirements

RequiredAny score awarded at teacher discretion that departs from the rubric anchor must be noted briefly in the gradebook Notes column for that section.

RequiredAll Discontinuity Flag entries (Teacher Conviction = 0) require a factual note describing what the student could and could not demonstrate.

RequiredAny makeup meeting point restoration must be noted with the date of the makeup meeting.

RecommendedAny Faith-in-Action partial credit determination that the teacher believes may be disputed should include a brief note.

PurposeDocumentation protects both the teacher and the student. It creates a professional record that grades were awarded thoughtfully and can be reviewed if questioned.

Section 10

Gradebook Spreadsheet Structure

Technical reference for the grading spreadsheet

File versions

Version	Description	Use case
v5 — Combined	One row per section (18 rows). Single overall meeting content score per section.	Recommended for most teachers. Simpler data entry. Best when teacher assigns one meeting defense per section.
v6 — Itemized	Five rows per section (90 rows total). Up to 5 individual items per section scored separately.	For teachers who assign multiple gradeable items per section (paper + oral report + project). Section average calculated automatically.

CourseGrades tab — holistic tier inputs

The CourseGrades tab is the single entry point for all three holistic tier categories. Scores entered here are automatically referenced by every course tab in the spreadsheet.

Column	Category	Scale	Who enters
B	Faith-Based Community Values in Action (Faith-in-Action)	0–5 per section	Teacher (per section)
C	Meeting Attendance	0–10 per section	Teacher (per section)
D	Regular Engagement	0–5 per section	Teacher (per section)
E	Notes	Text	Teacher (as needed)

Course tabs — class-specific inputs

Cell/Column	Field	Format	Notes
B2	Curriculum Grade	Decimal (0.75 = 75%)	Gates overall grade — No Grade until entered
Col B	Assigned Work Completion	0–10 per section	One score per section regardless of spreadsheet version
Col C	Depth of Understanding	0–10 per section	Data validation enforces maximum
Col D	Responsiveness to Questioning	0–4 per section	Data validation enforces maximum
Col E	Growth & Ownership	0–4 per section	Data validation enforces maximum
Col F	Teacher Conviction	0–2 per section	Data validation enforces maximum
Col G	Meeting Content Total	Auto-calculated	C+D+E+F; formula result
Col H	Notes	Text	Assignment labels, flags, observations
H2/I2	Current Course Grade	Auto-calculated	Weighted formula; displays No Grade until B2 is entered

Grade formula logic

The overall course grade is calculated as a weighted average of all six categories. Categories that have no scores entered (No Grade) are excluded from the denominator proportionally — the grade is calculated from available data rather than treating missing categories as zero. This allows a meaningful grade to be calculated at any point during the semester.

Critical data entry note

Zero versus blank: A score of 0 in any input cell is treated as a scored zero and is included in all averages. A blank cell is treated as not applicable and is excluded. Teachers must enter 0 explicitly when a student was assessed and earned no credit. Do not leave a cell blank to indicate a zero — that removes the section from the calculation entirely.

Section 11

Summer School Implementation

Specific operational differences for summer sessions

Pacing and section cadence

Summer school students complete approximately 5 sections per week rather than 1. This compresses the 18-section semester into roughly 3.5–4 weeks. All grading categories apply exactly as in a regular semester. The holistic tier scores are still entered once per section in the CourseGrades tab.

DDF attendance enforcement — administrative procedure

Teacher tracks DDF posts daily in the course notes or a separate attendance log
Teacher enters the Regular Engagement score in CourseGrades reflecting the quality of engagement for that section
When a student reaches their 3rd DDF absence, teacher notifies administration
Administration applies the direct grade deduction per the policy table (−3%, −2%, or −1% per subsequent absence depending on course load)
Deduction is documented in the student’s record separately from the gradebook formula
Parent notification is issued at the point the administrative deduction is first applied

Summer school weight variant — pending decision

A summer school weight variant has been discussed that would adjust category weights to reflect the compressed timeline and different meeting cadence. This variant has not been formally adopted. Current practice uses standard weights for summer school.

Pending administrative decision

Pending: Summer school weight variant decision. Proposed adjustment would increase Regular Engagement weight and reduce Learning Verification weight to reflect fewer scheduled teacher meetings. Requires educational team review before implementation.