As you may have noticed, grades for the short essay sections of our first quiz this quarter, Plate Tectonics, and our second quiz, Earthquakes, have never been added to the gradebook in PowerSchool. I have noted whether you have turned in your essay answers, but not given an actual score.
I apologize for the lateness and confusion! Not only am I not used to grading essays as a science teacher, but I was not happy with how I structured the questions and the student results I was getting. So, after grading most, but not all, of the essays, I have decided to not post the scores and not count them towards the final grade. Writing in the sciences is important, and our new Idaho Core Standards put a greater emphasis upon writing in science class than ever before. We will continue writing in science class and I will be working on new ways to incorporate it into our assignments and assessments. Thanks for your patience!
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