AP English is a challenging, college-level course. We are here to support and guide students, and we expect students to try their best at all times, working together with their teachers to achieve individual and collective success. Additionally, we expect every student to demonstrate the three tenets of our campus at all times: be respectful, be responsible, and be safe. Communicate with your teachers in a respectful and timely manner, and take responsibility for your learning. Parents, please help to support your student at home, while we teachers support at school. This team approach creates excellent outcomes for students. 

ACADEMIC HONESTY:

Academic honesty is an integral expectation of the AP English program. Please ensure that you have read your student handbook thoroughly, and that you understand the definitions of and consequences for academic dishonesty in all forms. You can find the student handbook on our website by hovering over the "Students" tab, then selecting Student Handbook. A shortcut can be accessed here.

AP WORKSHOPS:

Students will be required to partake in an AP Workshop. The workshop is a mock exam experience run by CHHS AP teachers, which uses previous years’ released AP exam materials and simulates the timing and experience of the actual exam. Workshops take place on two consecutive Fridays, though students need only attend one. Post-workshop, students will debrief the mock exam in class and prepare plans for individualized review leading up to the test. Students should make every effort to attend workshops in person, though with extenuating circumstances, they will be allowed to complete the workshop materials at home. In this case, we do recommend attempting to recreate testing settings as much as is possible at home. 

LATE WORK POLICIES:

These policies are consistent between all English classes, regardless of teacher. Because AP Lang requires extensive evaluation and reading of student work, please attempt to minimize late submissions as much as possible. Assignments missed due to excused absences may be made up without a loss of points, with one day for each day missed to make up work for full credit, and the possible exception of long-term assignments with prearranged deadlines. Students who are absent are responsible for checking Google Classroom and asking questions if needed upon return. Do not wait for your teacher to reach out and explain what you missed, as it will be posted daily. Attending to work within the allotted time is the student's responsibility. For regular late submissions (no absence), work submitted between one and seven days late late will receive a maximum score of 70%. Work submitted past the one-week window will not receive credit. Any student experiencing difficulty meeting deadlines or course requirements is encouraged to reach out via email or in person as soon as possible. If there is a true emergency or extenuating circumstance, please let your teacher know as soon as possible. Our goal is to work together towards your success, always. 

Mrs. Hernandez’ Standards-Based Grading Policies in a Nutshell (AP)

Grades are not a judgment, and they are not compensation. They are communication about mastery of skills, rooted in the College Board Curricular Requirements and California Common Core State Standards. They are an accurate report of what happened during a given assignment or activity. Your grades do not define you, positively or negatively; they give you feedback about where you are on a path of learning. We are all traveling that path; we move at different paces and our paths may take varying directions.

Self-Assessment

YOU are the best person to assess your own progress; when students understand what success looks like and can measure their own work against levels of success, they can take ownership of their progress and make plans for growth. I am here to help you become a skilled evaluator of your work. 

This means:

• You will sometimes submit work that does not receive a grade; you may receive only comments from me, or directions for you to examine a grading rubric in a reflection.
• You will spend time evaluating sample work, your peers’ work, and your own work.
• You will sometimes submit work to me that you have already “graded” on your own; your self-awarded grade will need to be justified by our grading rubrics and/or the College Board AP Language and Composition course standards and may or may not be recorded in the gradebook – I will evaluate your work and return it to you with feedback about how accurate you were in self-evaluating.
• I will repeatedly ask you the following question: “What are you supposed to be learning, and where are you in relation to that goal?”

Grades Based on Mastery

Your grades should be a clear communication of how well you have provided evidence of mastery of standards. Grades should not be based on anything else. Discipline happens separately from grading. Please be punctual with your work, as we are tied to the English department policy on late work - do not let late assignment penalties interfere with our understanding of your progress. If work is not submitted on time, you will miss valuable steps in the learning process which lead you to mastery. 

This means:

• Your “work habits” (WH)  and “citizenship” (C) scores matter in my class, and you will receive scores on assignments in these categories of the gradebook. You may often self-score and/or formally reflect in these areas.
• WH and C scores do not affect your grade, but are reported on progress reports/report cards.
  • Examples of work habits: punctuality (on-time to class and in submitting work), bringing materials necessary for class, staying focused on in-class work and activities, keeping an organized notebook, etc.
  • Examples of citizenship: treating classmates, yourself, and me with respect at all times, contributing to group discussions and projects in positive ways, assisting other students who need help, leaving your desk area clean, being courteous and kind to others, etc.
• Extra credit does not exist. You can not escape accountability for your learning in this system.

Failure/Error As a Part of Learning

When you first learned to walk as a baby, you fell. A lot. When you learned to ride a two-wheeler bike, you probably crashed at least once (or at the very least needed training wheels to prevent that). If you’ve ever tried baking the perfect cake, you likely created some lackluster or flat out ugly ones along the way. Failure is not the same as error. Error is a normal part of growth, and through it we can identify our weaknesses and work to improve upon them. There is no shame in error that results from an honest, true attempt at success. Failure occurs when a person stops seeing error as feedback.  

This means:

• Errors in learning can be “forgiven” in this class. As the year goes on, I evaluate your growth alongside averaging your scores. Though I am still required to give you an averaged A-F letter grade, I use several strategies to determine this score:
• Each 6-wk grading period increases in point value; assignments in the first 6 weeks are worth less than the second 6 weeks, and so on. This allows you to make mistakes in the beginning, and have more value added to your later attempts.
• We (AP Lang teachers) use two grading categories: Formative Assessment (25%) and Summative Assessment (75%). 
  • Formative assessment is any assignment that helps you form knowledge. It’s practice, or rehearsal - class activities, homework assignments, etc. It provides you with feedback about your progress. 
  • Summative assessment is when you show me how well you can do after a series of practice attempts. It’s the final game, showtime - the essay, test, final presentation, etc. It is an evaluation. You MUST submit these assignments in order to show mastery of skills and concepts.
• I move assignments from the summative assessment category down to the formative when needed. I may also remove the point value or weight of an assignment previously recorded in your grade. 
  • EX: If you score a D on your first rhetorical analysis, a C on your second, then A’s on the next five in a row, this tells me that you have mastered the components of character analysis by the end of the semester. It makes no sense to leave a D and a C in the large portion of your grade. These D and C assignments would then be lowered in point total or changed in category. I make these decisions based on conversations with you and careful continual evaluation of your work. 
• I allow and encourage redo’s and retakes at my discretion. I get to decide the parameters for when this is reasonable, but I promise I always work with your best interest in mind. 
  • Redo’s will only apply to summative assessments. A redo grade replaces the first attempt grade. 
  • In order to redo or retake an assessment, you must participate in some kind of relearning before we reassess. Yes, this means more work. Commit to your learning.
  • You will commit to a date/schedule of completion for any redo, and your parents will sign your redo contract. Failure to meet or communicate about this deadline with me lowers your Work Habits grade, and results in a one-on-one with me.
  • Redo’s may consist of alternative work that measures the same skill(s).
  • If you are repeatedly asking for redo’s in place of putting effort into learning the first time, you will meet with me (and possibly parents). This abuses our system.
  • No redos will take place in the final week of a grading period.
• Missing assignments are not acceptable. You must try. Failing to try means you, your parents, myself, and possibly an administrator or counselor will be meeting to discuss changes.