Grades are largely developed on a percentage system based on a fairly large
number of points, 1,000 to 1,500 per marking period. The points are earned
from several categories of activity as follows:
Writing exercises - lead writing, news writing, feature writing, editorial
writing, editing.
Tracking the News - based on evidence of reading the Oakland Tribune
in class.
Class contributions - promptness, attendance, oral contributions, extra
projects, artistic contributions.
Tests and presentations - marking period and semester final exams,
pop quizzes, unit tests and journalistic history presentations.
Productions - producing finished articles for in-class, web site, or
school-wide publications.
Each category will count between 15 and 25 % of the grade varying from marking period to marking period depending, primarily, on the balance of the reading and writing load.
A = 90% to 100%; B = 80% to 89.9%; C = 70% to 79.9%; D = 60% to 69.9%; F = 59.9% or below.
Late work:
Daily work cannot be submitted late under any circumstances other than the most extreme and compelling. Use the study buddy system to insure daily work is stamped appropriately. Unstamped work will not be counted toward the grade.
Project writing cannot be turned in late even under the most compelling humanitarian circumstances since they are assigned well in advance, planning and project management should be in effect and others depend on their timely submittal. However, keeping pace with the real world, three times during the year a student may exercise an option to submit these assignments no more than two school days late unless such lateness spans from the end of one marking period to the beginning of the next or extends beyond the publication deadline.
Oracle articles cannot be turned in late.
Submittal of work: Projects are due by the end of the day specified
which is defined as the time Mr. Jollymore leaves Skyline not to return until
the following morning. Emailed reports are due in his email or the editor's
email box no later than 11:59 PM on the due date and must be printed out by
the student the following day. Plagiarized articles will receive a failing
grade of zero; always protect yourself by giving credit to borrowings. Of
course, all assignments may be submitted at the beginning or end of the class
period.
At best, grading is subjective work. Students are expected to defend and promote their work and seek the highest grade attainable BASED on the MERIT of the work. But other considerations should not come into the picture, and, though they are often presented, they have no affect on the grade. Therefore, concerns such as eligibility for activities, parental expectations, employment schedule, social schedule, the health of family, trips scheduled during class time and other, similar, events and situations cannot not affect the grade. No work made up or submitted after the grade book closes for a marking period will be posted to the book.
Quality of work: The presentation of work is important. Most written
assignments will be submitted via email and, thus, will be legible. In-class
writing will be done as much as possible on AlphaSmart word processors. Spell
check when available must always be used. Standard headings are required each
time.
