About Graded Assignments

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Grading of Assignments

"Who will grade my high school student's work?"

The courses found in the STAA Study Guides have five major components: 1) independent reading and study of the assigned reading material, 2) weekly scheduled discussions about the coursework, 3) weekly online reading comprehension quizzes, 4) various written assignments that consist of short-answer responses, paragraph responses, essays, book reviews, mapwork, multicolor study sheets, story charts, timelines, special worksheets, testing, etc., and 5) using the gradebook to calculate a quarter grade.  The following chart details which course components are left in the charge of teaching-parents and which are handled by the advisor when taking courses through St. Thomas Aquinas Academy.

*Online Quizzes:  Most of the online quizzes are automatically graded by the computer.  Some quizzes require a human person to evaluate a multi-sentence student response.  Students enrolled in LIVE and GUIDED courses will have ALL of their quizzes graded by the computer or their high school advisor.  Students enrolled in STAA that are not presently taking a LIVE or GUIDED course may run across some quizzes that require them to print their multi-sentence response and share it with their teaching-parent during their weekly discussion to obtain a quiz grade.  Such quizzes include instructions and a "(respond and print)" reminder in the quiz name.

Submitting Assignments

"How do we submit assignments for grading?"

It is the responsibility of the student enrolled in the LIVE or GUIDED class to submit the assignments through the STAA Student Zone.  Advisors cannot grade work that is not submitted in the proper place.  Each assignment has a special place on the course page in the Student Zone where assignment files can be uploaded.  The student will use the "submit/upload" dialog box on the Student Zone to find the assignment file on his computer, watch for it to upload to the website, and then click the "Submit assignment" button to watch for the submission receipt message.  The Student Zone will display a confirmation message with a date and time.  The notifications area in the top right corner of the website near the student's name will also keep a log of the submission.

This process will be described during the orientation meeting for each class.  Students may also ask questions about the submission process on the course's Q & A Forum throughout the semester.

"Do my parents need to grade my assignments before I submit them to my advisor?"

No, your teaching-parents do not need to grade your written assignments before you submit them.  You are, however, always welcome to read your work aloud to your parents and discuss possible adjustments before you turn the assignment in for review and grading by your advisor.''

"When are the assignments due?"

All assignments have due dates.  See the official academic calendar to line up the due dates listed in the STAA Study Guides with the calendar due dates.  The STAA Student Zone will take the due dates and give the student until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday to submit the assignment.  For instance, if the due date for an assignment is listed as Week 4, Day 5 in the STAA Study Guide, we line that up with the calendar dates on the Academic Calendar to find that day is Friday, September 16.  The Student Zone will mark all assignments as "on time" that are submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, September 17. 

"Can I submit assignments early?"

Yes, students are always welcome to submit assignments early.  It is possible that the assignment will be graded early, though more likely it will be graded just after the original due date.

Late Assignment Policy

"How are late assignments handled?"

There is a score reduction of 10% for assignments that are turned in after the Saturday at 11:59 p.m. deadline.  The window to submit assignments closes permanently exactly one week after the original deadline.  The 10% penalty is the same all week long, so students are encouraged to avoid coursework on Sundays.  The Student Zone does not close down on Sundays, but it is our desire that Sundays are left entirely for worship, family time, and rest.

Assignments that are not properly submitted through the STAA Student Zone during the "on time" or "late assignment" periods are automatically marked with a zero by the computer system.  Teaching-parents are welcome to supersede this zero score by grading the very late assignment on their own and recording that grade manually in the printed version of the course's gradebook.  Your advisor and the computer system will not have a record of this change so the teaching-parent will need to manually recalculate the grade the advisor issues at the end of the quarter to reflect the special changes the teaching-parent authorized for his or her student.

While the Late Assignment Policy allows for assignments to regularly be turned in up to one week late, it does not apply to assignments due the final week of the semester.   Assignments with a Week 16, Day 5 due date are due on the Friday of Week 16 and must be submitted before 11:59 p.m. the next day.  There will be no late submission week following assignments with a Week 16 due date.

"What should I do if I fall behind in my written work?"

In the preparatory weeks, students are encouraged to look over the course gradebook in the STAA Study Guide and highlight the assignments that are marked with asterisks.  These assignments are the essential assignments to complete to earn credit for the course.  These assignments are typically worth three, four, or five times the number of points of the other assignments.  It is important to put best effort into these essential assignments and complete them on time.  Students that are running behind on other assignments may find that they just may need to drop a minor assignment or two in order to catch up and do well on an upcoming essential assignment.  All of the assignments and their assignment points values are listed in the course gradebook in the STAA Study Guide so students can always look ahead at what is coming up in the course, crunch the numbers, and make strategic decisions about how to spend their time in their courses.

Your advisor will be able to offer specific tips and directions during the semester during the live class meetings and in response to any questions posed on the course's Q & A Forum to apply these general comments about assignment strategy to the particular circumstances in the course.

"Can I get an extension for an essential assignment?  I have a [recital/performance/swim meet/competition/trip] planned for the weekend the assignment is due." 

Extensions are not available for essential assignments or other assignments beyond the "Late Assignment Policy" week.  If you have a scheduled conflict, we will suggest that you complete the assignment early or skip a minor assignment in order to work on the essential assignment early.  At the very least, turn in a hurried and quick attempt at the assignment during the "Late Assignment Policy" week in order to earn SOME assignment points instead of NO assignment points (this is akin to "strategic and educated guessing" on standardized tests when you encounter questions you are not confident about, but still want to make an attempt in order to possibly earn some points).

Quarter Grades

"Will my advisor grade my course as well as my discussions and assignments?" 

The high school advisor will maintain a gradebook and prepare quarter grades for the teaching-parents to review for students enrolled in a Live Class with Graded Discussions and Graded Assignments or a One-on-One Guided Course.  These courses are designed to assist students and families in their homeschooling, not supersede parental authority, so the ultimate grade that teaching-parents report for transcripts is to be determined by the teaching-parents.  Teaching-parents may take the recommended quarter grades as the final grades for the transcripts or they may adjust the grades based on extra credit assignments and special changes they made in their home for their child during the course of the semester.  For instance, if a student is enrolled for assignment grading and the teaching-parents ask their child to only focus on submitting the essential assignments to the advisor for grading, with the teaching-parents taking charge of grading all the minor assignments (perhaps even changing the quantity or format of the minor assignments), then the teaching-parents will want to take the grades from the advisor, and fill in the grades that the computer and advisor show as "not submitted/zero" with their own assignment grades in order to calculate the final quarter grade.

"Do we have to turn in every assignment?"

Students that are determined to earn an "A" for the quarter from their high school advisor will want to turn in every assignment and make sure to complete everything listed in the course's gradebook with strong scores.  Students that want to use the LIVE or GUIDED classes as a way to help organize their study of the semester's material, but need more flexibility because of illness, special circumstances, or family plans, are encouraged to focus their efforts on studying the course material, participating in the quizzing and discussions, and turning in at least the essential assignments.  When the latter approach is taken, students will need to look to their teaching-parents for a final quarter grade.  Students that have a very busy personal schedule, or expect frequent interruptions to the semester, or have other unique circumstances that will prevent them from submitting assignments on time during the semester, are likely to find the Live Class with Graded Discussions option the best fit for the semester.  In the Live Class with Graded Discussions option, students will participate in the class discussions and in the weekly quizzes, but written assignments will be graded by the teaching-parents and the quarter grades will be issued by the teaching-parents.

"Can I turn in a different kind of assignment instead of the one described in the STAA Study Guide?" 

The assignments submitted to the high school advisor for grading will be graded based on the assignment directions.  Assignments that have a format or prompt that is different from the assignment directions in the STAA Study Guide and on the STAA Student Zone should be submitted to your teaching-parents for review and grading.  Your teaching-parents will then need to manually record the assignment score in the printed gradebook so the score can be included in the end-of-quarter grade they issue to you.