APEX Learning, Inc. Grading and Reporting

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1 Orientation Document Outline: About APEX Grading Policy Proctored Semester/Final/AP Exams Submitting Work to APEX via Message and Fax Course Materials/Optional Texts Student Expectations/Agreement Apex Contact Information Orientation Information for APEX AP COURSES Mr. Robert Griese, Site Coordinator Fall 2012 Online AP Coordinator Mr. Robert Griese Office Info: 4414 Holborn Ave Annandale VA APEX Access: Fairfax County Public Schools: APEX Learning, Inc. Online AP Courses are contracted through a vendor, Apex Learning, Inc. Apex Learning was started in 1997 by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, with the idea that Internet-based technology, if used appropriately, could offer significant benefits for students and educators. Apex Learning's Advanced Placement courses have been authorized by the College Board Audit. For Technical Assistance, contact Grading and Reporting APEX courses are semester courses. The Online Campus will report 1 st and 3 rd quarter grades to base schools, but those grades are reflective of student progress at the time and are not included in the student s semester or final grade calculation. Students final grades will be the percentage average of the 1 st and 2 nd semester grade; quarter grades are not averaged to determine final grade. Students will take proctored exams at the end of each semester. IMPORTANT: Although APEX will recommend a semester/final grade, it is based on a nonproctored evaluation. The Online Campus will take the proctored semester/final exam as evidence of the mastery of the student. Failure to perform on the semester/final exam may lower the semester/final grade. The FCPS Online Campus will determine all grades. Students and parents can access Apex recommended grades and reports from the Reports link under Tools on the My School page. Page 1

2 Interims and quarter grades will be sent to students base school from the Online Campus office. Important Dates: Midterm Exam January 23 6pm (location TBD) Final Exam May 29 6pm (location TBD) APEX AP Grading Scales The Apex Grading Scales will be used for Apex-taught courses. Calculus, Physics B, Statistics Macroeconomics and Microeconomics: All Other Courses: % = A % = A 75-84% = B 80-89% = B 65-74% = C 70-79% = C 55-64% = D 60-69% = D Below 55% = E Below 60% = E Proctoring Students will complete the semester Unit Tests unproctored, but will be required to complete a face-to-face exam at the end of each semester. FCPS will validate all recommended Apex grades via this face-to-face exam. Students should be able to demonstrate mastery on the proctored exam commensurate (within two letter grades) with work completed in an unproctored setting. Students unable to score within two letter grades may have their final grade lowered and may be required to complete proctored unit tests during the 2 nd semester. Remember, Apex provides a recommended grade, but final student grades are determined by the Online Campus. Grade Weighting Below is a list of fields used by APEX to weight all work in their AP courses. Check your course s online syllabus for more information about grade weighting. The syllabus is located in the course material, under APPENDIX: Student Resources. Labs Computer-Scored Quizzes Discussion Board Assignments Unit Tests Semester /Final Course Exam Total Grading Deadlines APEX Policy Apex recommends grades to the Online Campus. The Online Campus determines all semester/final grades and reports them to base schools. Page 2

3 Activities must be submitted by the Semester End Date (January 25 th, May 31 st ) to be included in the Semester/Final Grade. Final Grades will be posted within seven school days of the End Date. Grades are recommended based on the scores earned on all Activities due by the deadline. If a student is working behind schedule: The teacher may award zeros for overdue activities, significantly affecting the Midterm or Final Grade, unless an extension has been formally arranged with the teacher. Make sure to keep in close contact with your teacher. For more information, please contact the course teacher. AP Exams The Online Campus does not order or administer the AP exams in May. The students base schools are responsible for ordering and administering AP exams. Students should see their counselors regarding AP exam ordering and administration. Preparing for the AP exam students should work with their instructors in order to complete all necessary content prior to the AP exam administration. AP exam schedule available at: Submitting Work Via Fax and Message APEX requires many assignments to be submitted via fax. Students need to approach their base school support personnel (counselor, administrator, administrative assistant) for access to school fax or fax assignments on their own. Make arrangements ahead of time; don t wait until the day something s due. Also, remember to print out a fax transmission sheet to use as a cover sheet for your assignment. These fax transmission sheets are available in your courses, on the assignment page. Click on the fax icon to open and print. Students may also be asked to submit assignments via the Apex Message feature located under Tools on the My School page. Students will select a teacher to receive the message and then browse to attach the appropriate file. Course Materials/Optional Materials The Online Campus will send students the required course textbook in care of their base school counselors. Books should arrive to counselors by September 17th. Students should see their counselors for their textbook. Textbooks may also be picked up at the Sprague Technology Center by appointment. --APEX includes a list of Optional Texts for each course. These optional texts are not provided by FCPS. Page 3

4 You can view the list of AP Course required and optional Texts beginning on page 10 at: Student Expectations Time Requirements APEX recommends students spend between 10 and 15 hours a week on their AP courses. Students should login to their Apex courses on a weekly basis. APEX WILL REMOVE STUDENTS AFTER 21 DAYS WITH NO LOGIN. Code of Conduct The following rules apply to all activity conducted on Apex Learning Inc. Web sites. Failure to abide by these rules may result in revoked access to Apex Learning Web sites. If you witness any violations of these guidelines, please contact your instructor or the Support team at support@apexlearning.com or Accountability Posting anonymous messages is not permitted except for the express purpose of collaborative writing. Impersonating another person is also strictly prohibited. Use only your own user name and password, and do not divulge these to anyone. Do not aid anyone in gaining unauthorized access to password-protected Apex Learning pages. Do not publicly post your personal contact information (address and telephone number) or anyone else's. Do not publicly post any messages that were sent to you privately. Inappropriate Behavior Inappropriate behavior includes: Insults or attacks of any kind against another person Use of obscene, degrading, or profane language Harassment (continuously posting unwelcome messages to another person) or use of threats Use of Copyrighted Materials All material contained in Apex Learning Web sites is copyrighted and provided for exclusive use by enrolled Apex Learning students. Enrolled students may print or photocopy material from the Web site for their own use while studying with Apex Learning. However, copying or reprinting these materials for use by or distribution to others is prohibited unless expressly noted. Unauthorized copying or distribution may result in revoked access to Apex Learning Web sites. Integrity All work submitted by Apex Learning students is assumed to have been completed without direct help. Apex Learning provides guidance on plagiarism and the proper citation of sources. Students are responsible for observing these standards and properly crediting all Page 4

5 sources relied on in the composition of their work. Failure to abide by these standards will be reported to the appropriate school administrative authorities and may result in loss of credit and revoked access to Apex Learning Web sites. Plagiarism The definition of plagiarism is: Copying or imitating the language, ideas, and thoughts of another writer and passing them off as your own original work. Specific examples of plagiarism Apex Learning will not tolerate include: Copying or rephrasing another student's work Having someone else rewrite an assignment or rephrase any part of an assignment (not just proofread it) Directly copying student aids (for example, Cliff Notes), critical sources, reference materials, or other materials in part or in whole without acknowledgement Indirect reproduction of student aids, such as Cliff Notes, Coles Notes, critical sources, or reference materials by rephrasing ideas borrowed from them without acknowledgement. Source Citation Many courses require written work in which you will need to cite sources. Any direct quotations from your textbook can simply be cited as (Author, Page Number). Any quotations from outside sources require full citations, including author, title, publisher, date of publication, and page number. If you're citing information found on a Web site, provide the complete Web page or site title, URL, author if known, page number if applicable, and publication date of the site, if available. Student Agreement Students agree to complete the course and take the AP exam. The exam will be administered at the base schools. Students should make arrangements with their base school regarding AP exam accommodations. Apex Contact Information Phone number: support@apexlearning.com Instructors should post their contact information in the courses. ***FCPS instructors in AP Government, AP English Literature, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, and AP Statistics may make modifications to the items above. Check with your instructor for his/her policies and procedures.*** Page 5