Grading Breakdown for Regents Chemistry and Regents Physics

Tests and Quizzes- 40%

Labs - 35%

Homework/Classwork - 15%

Quarterly Test/Mid-Term/Final - 10%

Grading Breakdown for General Science

Tests and Quizzes- 40%

Homework/Classwork - 50%

Classroom Participation - 10%

Grading Breakdown for Science Discovery

Projects, Essays, and Reports - 50%

Exit Slips, Homework/Classwork - 35%

Classroom Participation - 15%

Homework and Classwork

Homework will be assigned more often than not, but students will consistently have ample time to work on it during class. This homework/classwork is intended to help students practice and master concepts and methods from the class. Homework will often be graded on completion, not mastery, but working to understand mistakes, gaps in knowledge, or misconceptions will greatly help improve their success on future tests and quizzes. Students are encouraged to come in for extra help as they need it, before it becomes a problem. Most topics are cumulative; do not fall behind! We will use concepts and methods from the very first unit even in the last unit!

Exit Slips

Science Discovery students will be required to fill out an exit slip at the end of some classes. These will have one to three short questions about that day's lesson, and should take approximately 5 minutes to complete and are due at the end of class.

Class Participation

General Science and Science Discovery have a class participation grade, given every 5 weeks, out of 10 points. Students will be graded on their preparedness for class (materials, homework assignments, etc.), participation in class discussions (by asking or answering questions and supporting classmates), and overall focus and attention (phones away, no headphones, taking notes, using class time wisely).

Tests, Quizzes, and Retakes

Notes and homework can be used on quizzes, but not on tests.

Chemistry and Physics: Students may retake any test or quiz (with the exception of quarterly tests, mid-term, and final) but will not be required to. It is up to the student to complete the retake sheet (demonstrating extra study time) and schedule the retake exam BEFORE the last week of the quarter.

General Science: Students may complete test corrections on any exam (with the exception of quarterly tests, mid-term, and final) but will not be required to. It is up to the student to complete the corrections worksheet BEFORE the last week of the quarter. Fully completed corrections sheets will earn back half the missed points.

Science Discovery: This class has been built with only a few tests and quizzes during the year. Students will be demonstrating their mastery of a concept for most units with projects and reports. Students will be allowed and encouraged to edit these projects and reports to reclaim some of the points they missed on their original submission. It is up to the student to complete and submit their corrections on their own time BEFORE the last week of the quarter.

Labs

Students are required to complete all labs. It is required by the state that students have so many lab hours before they can take the Regents Exam. Labs will be assigned, completed, and submitted through Google Classroom. All write-ups should use complete sentences and all answers should be supported with data from the lab. It is important to remember that it is okay not to get the intended results every time; just discuss how the results are somehow in error, analyze the lab and procedure for how that error came about, and suggest improvements that could be made.

General Science does not have a separate lab requirement, but we will be doing lab activities in class and the same rules apply. "Labs" for General Science count towards the Homework/Classwork grade.

Science Discovery does not have a separate lab requirement. Most classroom activities are hands-on and will be graded as either Homework/Classwork or Projects/Reports.