Grade book question about quarter VS semester grades

There is a debate going on our school site (7th-12th grade) about setting up our grade books on a quarter system or a semester.

Currently teachers are free to set up their grade book with either but semester grades are the ones that count towards credits earned.

I like to set up mine as a semester that builds through quarter 1 and 2. I reset it for q3+4 to build the sem2 grade.

Some teachers say it is better for students to have their grade books reset at the quarter and have a average of q1+2 to give a semester grade. They say that low preforming students get less discouraged by this process and wont give up on their grades if they get low.

I like the semester system because the students know what their semester grade (the one that counts) throughout the whole grading period and their are no surprises at the end of the semester.

Does your school mandate a grade book system or are you free to choose? What system do you prefer? Is their any evidence out their that has shown a benefit for either system?

Submitted June 03, 2019 at 03:18PM by physmixnmatch http://bit.ly/2Z3iZMX