Coursework and Grading

Accessing Your Assignments

Lessons are structured using modules that guide students to complete content in order. When courses allow students to work ahead, conditional release settings may be used to ensure proper order of completion.

Submitting Your Assignments

Save all assignments that are completed and submitted to your instructor, just in case. Always save a copy of what you submit either on a flash drive or on your computer’s hard drive. Also, students are provided with a Google account so that work may be saved to their Google Drive to be accessed on any device. If there are ever technical issues, you have the assignments ready to submit again if needed. If a problem arises during submission, email your teacher the assignment with a screenshot of what occurred. Otherwise, all assignments should be submitted within the course. All assignment due dates are set and communicated using Eastern Standard Time (EST). Any assignment received after the due date and time according to Eastern Standard Time will be considered late.

Grade Response Time

Please allow a turn-around time of 3-5 school days after submitting an assignment during the Fall and Spring semesters and one school day during the summer semester, although you will often receive your grade sooner. For major projects, teachers may indicate a longer turn-around time for grading. Teachers will notify students when additional time is required to assess assignments such as projects. Keep the turn-around time in mind when planning your schedule so you can turn in assignments and still allow time for feedback.

Kindergarten through 2nd Grade

All academic subjects in Kindergarten and 1st grade are assessed based on student progress and mastery of the standards.  Students receive a grade for engagement in each course, completion of required assessments, and mastery of each standard.

The following grading scale applies and reflects student mastery of each standard:

• 4 - Distinguished (only applicable to specific standards)
• 3 - Proficient (expected level of mastery)
• 2 - Developing
• 1 - Beginning

3^rd through 12^th grades

Final Grades are reported numerically based on the following scale:

• A = 90-100+
• B = 80-89
• C = 70-79
• F = 0-69

Grades at or above seventy percent (70%) are considered passing. Students taking high school courses will earn 0.5 credit for each semester grade at or above seventy percent (70%).

Gradebook Composition

There must be at a minimum five (5) grades per semester in all sections of the grade book, except for the Final Exam section, which will have one (1) grade per semester. A project/ paper may be broken into up to five (5) sections for the extended coursework section.

• Mandatory Benchmark, Growth, and Summative Assessment Participation grades shall be either 0% or 100%, based on whether the exam was taken or not AND within the time period allowed.
• Students may earn over 100% on any assignment, test or benchmark with extra credit.
• A student’s overall cumulative average grade may be over 100% in a grade level’s subject area.
• A student’s overall cumulative grade earned in any subject/ course will be reflected on their report card and transcript and accurately reported in Infinite Campus to the second decimal place.

Late Work

At Georgia Cyber Academy students are responsible for accessing and completing daily assignments, as outlined in each course calendar. Due dates for assignments are posted in each course calendar to ensure that students are informed of appropriate pacing.

All coursework/assignments must be completed and submitted no later than the assigned time OR by 11:59 pm EST on the posted due date if no specific time is denoted by the teacher.

• Temporary zeroes are entered as grades for each assignment not submitted by the due date. The temporary zeroes will be calculated into the overall course scores for assignments that remain unsubmitted during the allotted late work policy window.
• Students are permitted to complete all coursework (excluding assessments) up to five (5) school days after the due date for FULL credit WITH PRIOR PERMISSION from school administration. Assignments received after the actual due date WITH PRIOR PERMISSION and within the granted grace period, will count for full credit. The new grade will replace the temporary zero in the grade book. It is at the sole discretion of the school administration whether permission is granted to accept work late and only when substantiation of extenuating circumstances is provided. This information will be documented in the student record.

• All students are permitted to complete all coursework (excluding assessments) up to five (5) school days after the due date for partial credit. Assignments received after the actual due date WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION, but within the granted grace period, will be graded and then receive an additional 10 point deduction taken for each day past the original assignment due date with a maximum deduction of 70 points. The new grade will replace the zero in the grade book.

• Coursework received more than five (5) school days after the due date will not be accepted for grades, unless prior arrangements have been requested. Permanent zeroes will be entered as grades for these assignments and for assignments not received by the permanent zero deadline.

• IMPORTANT NOTE regarding assessments – NWEA MAP, Interim Assessments, Unit Tests, WriteScore, final exams, and other assessments as determined by the school must be completed within the class period(s) scheduled. Extended time will be followed. In some cases, it may be appropriate for assessments to be given early if a student completes work at a faster pace than their assigned class.

Due date extensions on assignments may be permitted under some extenuating circumstances with advance approval from school administration. Extenuating circumstances may include, but are not limited to, conflicting student work schedules (Counseling AND Principal approval required), hospitalizations, debilitating illness, conflicting medical treatments, new parenting responsibilities (Counseling AND Principal approval required), APPROVED travel (Superintendent approval required), conflicting academic competitions.

For students with Individualized Education (IEP) or 504 Plans, the plan accommodations and requirements regarding extended time will be followed.

Extra Credit

Extra credit may be offered at the discretion of the teacher. Any extra credit opportunities will be offered to the entire class, not to individual students. Examples of extra credit opportunities include:

• Study Guides
• Enrichment Projects

Secondary Grades (High School) Course Failure and Repeat Credit

Failed courses will be recorded as an ‘F’ and/or with the failing numerical grade on the student’s transcript and a zero-quality point will be computed for the course in determining the GPA. Students are permitted to retake failed courses. Courses required for graduation must be re-taken and passed. If a student retakes a course, the initial failing grade and the subsequent repeated grade will appear on a student’s transcript and both grades will be factored into the student’s overall GPA.

Grade Appeals

Course Grade appeals must be submitted in writing to the school principal within thirty (30) days of the term end date. Upon receipt of the appeal, the school principal will lead a review internally among faculty, staff and administration.

A grade appeal may only be disputed for the following reasons:

• The grade was issued in error. This includes situations where there was a miscalculation of grade points that resulted in a lower grade for the appeal. The student must clearly demonstrate the miscalculation. It also includes situations such as missing records, mistaken grade entries, etc.
• The student’s documentation that he or she previously received a higher grade on a similar assignment at the same level of competency.
• At least ten (10) business days are required for the principal and his/ her team to review a grade appeal request and issue an official decision. Appeal requests are permitted once per student, per term and all decisions are considered final

Secondary Grades (High School) Grade Point Averages (GPA)

For secondary grades students, GPAs are determined by adding the total number of semester grades earned and dividing by the number of semester courses taken. Semester averages will be depicted on the transcript as well. Earned grades greater than 100% will also be depicted on the high school transcript as what the student earned. The cumulative GPA is determined by adding all semester grades earned and dividing by the number of semester courses taken. Courses taken outside of Georgia Cyber Academy are not included in the GPA if not taken at an accredited school. High school courses taken while in middle school are included in the GPA and are shown on the transcript unless the Learning Coach has opted out of this option.

Report Cards and Progress

One of the many features available to students and parents/ learning coaches is a current report of academic progress, grades, and attendance information. A parent/ learning coach or student may monitor student current progress grades within each course gradebook, unless otherwise directed.  A report card will be issued at the end of each semester and will be available in Infinite Campus. Report cards should be retrieved through Infinite Campus and will not be mailed to the student’s home. If you need assistance with your Infinite Campus account, please contact your Family Engagement Liaison.