Bethlehem Area School District Purpose of Grading Statement
The purpose of grades is to communicate with students and parents/guardians about students’ achievement toward specific goals. With a focus on student growth, grades are intended to be used as feedback to guide timely improvements and offer enrichment opportunities. Academic support factors are reported separately from the achievement grade.
Parent Access to Grades
The two portals that contain important information about your child’s academic progress are:
- Synergy ParentVUE: Synergy ParentVUE gives parents/guardians access to their child’s schedules, grades, attendance, discipline, report cards, etc. You can see records for all of your children with this single log-in by clicking each child’s name. Please review your child’s personal information in ParentVUE on a yearly basis and contact us to correct any inaccurate information. The gradebook in Synergy ParentVUE reflects your child’s official achievement grade that will appear on report cards and the middle school transcript. Your child accesses their grades through the Synergy StudentVUE portal.
- Schoology: Schoology is our learning management system where your child completes and submits assignments. You can find copies or descriptions of many assignments for your child’s courses on Schoology. The Schoology gradebook for each course also contains important information related to your child’s academic and learning progress, including Academic Support Factor scores (see more information on Academic Support Factors below). Think of the Schoology grades as “the why” behind the Synergy ParentVUE grades.
For more detailed information on the difference between Synergy ParentVUE and Schoology, please refer to this informational letter for parents.
- Click here for access to the ParentVUE and Schoology portals
- Each parent/guardian received an activation key via mail for ParentVUE. If you did not receive an activation key, please contact the Nitschmann Student Services Offices. If you activated your account in the past, but cannot log in, please use the “Forgot Password” process. You will need to know the email that you provided when you first activated your account.
- After you’ve activated your account, you can then download the appropriate free mobile app:
iPhones: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/parentvue/id412054615
Androids: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.FreeLance.ParentVUE
- Logging onto Schoology:
- Navigate to https://app.schoology.com/login?school=427399109
- To log into Schoology, you can use the same username that you use to sign onto the Synergy ParentVue app. If you do not have a Parentvue username, you can use the email address that you have in the system.
- You may need to go through the “forgot password” process to access the Schoology account using the email address you have on file and/or use for Parentvue. To reset your password, click on “Forgot Password” at the login screen. You will need to access your email account to access the reset link that will be sent.
- Click here for the BASD Schoology FAQ Page
If you are having issues logging into Parentvue or Schoology, please contact the Mrs. Scott in Student Services.
BASD Assessment and Grading Policy
Bethlehem Area School District believes that it is important to report progress on the following items for each student:
- The Achievement grade represents the summary of assignments and assessments that will form the final letter grade for the course. The purpose of this approach is to clearly represent the students’ level of mastery of skills and content in the course. Summative assessments make up the achievement grade because they evaluate students’ academic performance. The Achievement Grade will be the usual letter grade (A, B, C, F) for each course that represents the students’ level of mastery of skills and content in the course.
- The Academic Support Factors assess whether or not students are demonstrating the habits of classroom engagement and responsibility, which are primary behaviors that lead to students’ success in school. A noncumulative rubric score for each Academic Support Factor will appear on the marking period report card, and they will not contribute to class rank or grade point average. The rubrics are below.
Academic progress and achievement are monitored and reported separately from Academic Support Factors, which are work habits, character traits, and behaviors such as attendance and class participation, which are also monitored and reported.
While Academic Support Factors are essential to the learning process, these habits do not provide evidence of what a student knows, understands, or can do with reference to the learning targets in a class. In our system, Academic Support Factors are reported separately from Achievement grades, and students receive feedback on these habits throughout the year.
Reporting of Grades
The Achievement Grade will be the usual letter grade (A, B, C, F) for each course that represents the students’ level of mastery of skills and content in the course. In addition, students will receive a ranking of 3, 2, or 1 for the Academic Support Factors, which assess whether or not students are demonstrating the habits of classroom engagement and responsibility that impact students’ success in school. Grades for the Academic Support Factors will not contribute to class rank or grade point average.