But grading policies are not identical on every campus, she said. The district sets grading parameters but leaves some variables up to individual campuses, such as how much weight is given in a final grade to homework and quizzes or performance standards. Performance standards are projects or tests students must complete to show they have mastered the academic standards. Some parents say it is such options that lead to varying failure rates. King had the second-highest failure rate, at 49 percent.
Similar differences exist at the middle school level.
The year before, the percentage of students who failed at least one class ranged from 15 percent at Cunningham to 45 percent at Haas, according to district figures. Yes,'' Lanier-Lerma said. Yes,'' Lanier-Lerma said. The district's academic standards spell out the main objectives that students need to learn. They were put into place in some schools during the 1994-95 school year and implemented districtwide the following year.