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As most of you know, Van Meter Secondary Staff has been working on finding a better way to report student learning to students and parents this school year. Each teacher has established at least one class in which he/she is using a competency-based grading system to report student learning. Teachers have been allowed flexibility to design and develop their own system based on the same basic principles (VM Grading Policy). As we continue to move forward, it will be decided if developing a set system for the building is needed.
To better report learning, several teachers are piloting a program called ActiveGrade. This platform is specifically designed for reporting student learning around certain learning targets, standards, or competencies as defined by each curricular area. The teachers will still be designing their own numbering system, but the overall view from a parent/student perspective will be the same. Red means students have not met the competency, Yellow means they have met it at the most basic level, and Green means they have mastered the competency at a high level. These colors will eventually be translated into a grade, but again, the focus is set to be on what students know and are able to do, not on how many points they have received.
We know this is a different system than most parents and students are accustomed to. We want to make the transition as smooth as possible. Students are talked to regularly about how this system is designed to help them have a better understanding of their learning. To further inform parents, we will be having some parent forums in February and early March. More information will be made available as soon as the dates are established. To log into your students ActiveGrade account click here LOGIN. If you have any questions, please contact Angie Tipling at angie.tipling@vmbulldogs.com or call her at (515) 996-2221. Here is more information on how to log in:
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Parents login at activegrade.appspot.com/vanmeter
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The email addresses will be their login.
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When they first login, they will enter their email address but NOT a password. Just click "login." The program will ask them to create a login at that time.
This section of the help manual will help answer questions about creating and managing accounts. If a student forgets his/her password, he/she can use the reset password link on the login page or the teacher can clear their password (which is explained in this section).
As always, if you have questions about your child's progress, be sure to contact the teacher first. If you are still having issues, please contact me at deron.durflinger@vmbulldogs.com or call me at (515) 996-2221. I look forward to working with you. Again, if you need anything, don't hesitate to contact me.
Go DAWGS!
Deron Durflinger
Secondary Principal
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