With the third marking period comes a new change to the retake policy established at the beginning of this school year. Some of these changes both restrict and free up parts of the policy, making it different depending on what subject a student wishes to retake an assessment in. 

The original retake policy, which was found within the Canvas pages of respective classes, allowed students to retake a formative assessment (quiz) every marking period, as long as the student had no missing homeworks or behavioral misconduct, and that they had notified the teacher of this request within 24 hours of the grade of the assessment they wished to retake being posted. 

However, this policy has drastically changed with the arrival of the third marking period. Now, students are allowed to retake one formative assessment (quiz) or one summative assessment (test). They also must fill out a form within 24 hours of the grade of the assessment the student wishes to retake being posted, and then must retake the assessment within five days of that period as well. Students should view each classes’ individual retake policy on their Canvas page, or ask their teacher directly for more information.  

Yet the biggest change of the policy was that students can only retake assessments they got an 84 or lower on, and the highest score they can receive on the retake is an 85. This reflects the idea that receiving a score lower than 85 means that student did not fully understand the material being tested, meanwhile any score above that means the subject was understood to a sufficient level. 

There are, however, different variations of the retake policy depending on each class. It’s important to check in with teachers and any materials posted on Canvas to be sure on how exactly the retake policy works for that specific class. 

For example, Dr. Zahos in her Chemistry class states that the retake policy is, “Must submit a Reflect and Reassess Form within 3 school days of grade posted in Genesis… Retake must be completed within 5 school days of grades put in Genesis…” This retake policy presents certain characteristics that differ between classes. 

Ms. Nix, in her Algebra 2 class, also has a retake policy with a few differences, “Fill out the Reflection/Reassessment  google form found on the class Canvas page within 1 day of receiving the graded assessment.” 

The difference between these two retake policies is subtle but matters significantly when considering when to retake assessments. For some classes, the window of time for deciding for reassessment is shorter than others. 

Students should check the respective retake policies of each class they take, rather than assume that one general policy applies to all of them. They can use each class’s Canvas pages to check the details of each policy, and make sure that they’re following the proper guidelines for particular classes. 

Although some students may be disheartened by the certain changes of the retake policy, it also provides more realistic and detailed opportunities for students to change major dips in their grade, now being able to retake summative assessments as well and not just formatives. Not only that, but the new policies seem to be taking the step towards encouraging learning and proper understanding within students, and not just another cram-fest to get a higher score than last time. 

The new changes to the retake policy present strict, yet specific guidelines on how to retry some of the assessments students take in their classes. Although these guidelines are different per class, it allows for more room and flexibility in retakes, and gives students a second chance to learn and do better.