We believe that students should learn to work for the love of knowledge, the excitement of discovery, and the joy of using their minds effectively. All students and their parents receive a full set of detailed written Evaluation Reports six times a year. These evaluations are specific and intended to indicate each student’s level of achievement. Students do not learn their academic grades until the spring of their junior year.
Academic Grades and Transcripts
Academic grades are recorded as letter grades (A+ – E), and are given at the end of each trimester and each course (for multi-trimester courses). Students do not learn their academic grades until the spring of their Junior year when the College Counseling office shows them their transcript as part of the college planning process. Before grades are submitted to the academic office, and sent to colleges to which they have applied, students have the opportunity to meet with their teachers to discuss their grades and academic standing.
Evaluation Reports
Each student’s advisor works with teachers and the academic dean to carefully evaluate their student’s academic standing, and ensure their development is understood by the student and their families. Reports include specific comments about individual strengths, areas for improvement, and suggestions for future growth, along with an assessment of both content knowledge, and skills such as collaboration and timeliness. Our careful performance reviews determine what further support a student might need if they are not thriving academically, and whether they should be moved onto Academic Warning or Academic Probation.
Engagement Assessments
Learning requires many forms of engagement on the part of the student. Teachers at The Putney School assess students on their engagement in each class using the guidelines below and report their observations through an “Engagement Score.” These engagement scores are feedback for students, advisors, and parents. Engagement scores do not get recorded on transcripts.
1
The student’s observable behaviors make it clear to the teacher that the student is actively engaged in learning.
2
The student’s observable behaviors show that the student is actively engaged in learning some of the time. The student needs to become more consistent.
3
Based on observable behaviors, the student is not meeting the teacher’s expectations for engagement in learning.
Participation
Of the core values of The Putney School, participation is perhaps most essential to the success of our daily endeavors. All of our programs—from classes to assemblies, Evening Arts to Sing, sports to work jobs — are designed to be most enjoyable and most effective with everyone present. Students are expected to participate fully.