Grading Scale 

All courses operate off of the FCPS Grading Scale 

Gradebook Type

Liberty uses a rolling gradebook. A rolling gradebook is a cumulative gradebook in which final grades are determined by a combination of all assessments rather than the average of quarter marks. The grade posted at the end of each traditional quarter is a snapshot of a student’s current progress in the course. That snapshot is what a student’s final grade would be if the course ended at that point in time. The primary benefit of a rolling gradebook is that it provides increased opportunities for students to show mastery of standards and benchmarks from previous grading periods.

More information can be found on the FCPS Secondary Grading and Reporting Page. 

Gradebook Weighting 

Graded work will fall into one of two categories:

Summative assessments (Product) are assignments that measure mastery of standards for the course. This category includes assignments that assess the student's ability to understand, analyze, and apply course content and skills holistically. These assignments count for 70% of the grade. 

The second category is formative assignments (Process) , which are assignments that provide students with feedback on their learning or allow students to practice the content they are learning. Assignments in this category allow students to understand areas for improvement while learning is in progress before a summative assessment. It counts for 30% of the grade. 

Students should receive feedback on formative assignments before any summative assessment on the same skills or standards. Teachers will separate achievement grades from work habit grades. This helps show learning versus responsible behavior. Teachers will communicate student’s attendance, effort, attitude, or other behaviors to parents and guardians through report card comments or other means that do not include grades.

Courses will provide more detail about what Summative Assessments and Formative Assignments look like in their class. 

Reassessment Policy 

Students must be prepared for and show their most complete evidence of learning on their assessments. For summative assessments, students will have at least one opportunity to reassess their learning up to 100%. Students who wish to reassess will be expected to complete steps to improve their mastery of the skill or content before doing a retake. Those steps may include: completing or turning in missing formative assessments, and working through additional opportunities. 

Scoring of Assignments 

All assignments assigned, both formative and summative, will be graded within the 100-point percentage format. 

Late Work and Work Completion

Learning is not optional at Liberty Middle School. We expect that all students complete 100% of their work 100% of the time.  As a result, all teachers expect students to complete and turn in assessments. 

To encourage timely completion, we strongly recommend submitting assignments by the assigned due date. However, we understand that unexpected circumstances may arise in a student’s life. Students will work with teachers and might be required to stay after school to ensure engagement in the opportunity to learn and to make sure students complete the work. For formative assignments, work will be accepted within two weeks of the due dates without penalty. 

• A variety of interventions and supports are available to assist students: 
• individual and small-group time during class, 
• individual and small-group time during PLUS Advisory periods, 
• passes during Academic Advisory periods, 
• after school on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Liberty Learning Center, and 
• after school by appointment with teachers.

Additionally, Fairfax County Public Schools is partnering with Varsity Tutors to provide students and families with extra resources for learning. Every student can take advantage of Varsity Tutors' services at no cost, including weekly live online classes, on-demand 24/7 chat tutoring, essay editing, and study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests. Tutoring is available in English and Spanish.

Use of the Zero

Students who make a reasonable attempt at completing an assignment will receive a minimum of a 50%. A “reasonable attempt” occurs when a student submits an assignment with some evidence of demonstrating knowledge. If a student does not make a “reasonable attempt” to show evidence of their learning, a zero may be entered into the gradebook.

Extra Credit

No extra credit will be given at Liberty. To ensure fairness and focus on mastery of core concepts, we believe that consistent effort on regular assignments is the best way to achieve success in this class. Instead, students will be presented with opportunities to reassess previous learning opportunities. 

Progress Reports and Comment Codes

Teachers are expected to return work and post grades into SIS within seven school days after the due date. Grading for assessments may require additional time to ensure quality feedback. Teachers shall email students as needed. Progress reports will be sent out every two weeks for students whose grade is a D or F. Teachers may email progress reports to others at their own discretion. 

To create a common language amongst all classes and for the sake of communication with students and families, Liberty will utilize a set of common comment codes. The table below details the code and impact 

Common Comment Codes

Honor Code Policy 

The expectation at Liberty Middle School is that students take credit only for work that is their own. Deliberately copying someone else’s work, allowing someone else to copy your work, using the words or ideas of others, and discussing assessments with others are all examples of honor code violations.

Anything written by AI is not considered your own original work. Using any AI program or software to formulate a response or answer is considered an honor code violation unless specified by a teacher. 

The family will be contacted and the teacher will require the student to redo the assessment or complete an alternate assessment. Referrals will be submitted by admin for multiple honor code violations.

Holiday Observance and Assessments 

Teachers shall engage students in meaningful learning on religious or cultural observance days. Teachers may reinforce previously acquired material or introduce new material. If a teacher introduces new material, they must provide the lesson content to students via Schoology and follow up directly with the students who miss the lesson for a religious or cultural observance.

When creating school schedules, teachers shall not schedule the following activities on the observance day: 

• tests, quizzes, or other assessments; 
• field trips, school pictures, guest speakers, or assemblies; 
• sporting events or school-sponsored special events and activities (i.e. Back to School Night);
• auditions or tryouts that cannot be rescheduled; or
• safety drills which occur 1-2 times per year (i.e. tornado, lockdown).

If a student is scheduled to take a required assessment on the day following a Religious/Cultural Observance Day, school staff must communicate the test schedule at least seven (7) calendar days in advance.