Mastery Grading
Expeditionary Learning stresses mastery of the curriculum and skills. The grading system in 7th and 8th grades includes grades of A, B, C or F — no D's.
Students must be prepared to stay after school and seek help from their teachers when needed. Parents must provide a quiet atmosphere and appropriate help at home. Teachers stay after school or open the classroom at lunch to help students, and teachers grade "Redos".
The grading system in 6th grades includes grades of A, B, C, D or F.
The grading system in 7th and 8th grades includes grades of A, B, or F — no C's and D's.
Redos
A Redo is an opportunity to improve a particular assignment that does not receive at least a 'B-' but does demonstrate a sincere effort.
Under normal circumstances, a student may receive a week to "redo" the assignment. However, once an assignment receives a redo, the student must do very high quality work on the assignment in order to achieve a 'B'. An 'A' is not possible.
A student may receive up to two Redos on any given assignment, but it is important to understand that a redo is an offered opportunity, not an assumed right. Turnaround time for an algebra redo is one day and is only available once per assignment.
Field Guides
Throughout the school year, students develop personal field guides or other assigned projects for each overnight trip. For a field guide, students must research the plants, animals, insects, and minerals likely to be found on the expedition.
They then organize the data and present it as a field guide, including the scientific and common names, descriptions, Native American uses, field observations, and a drawing of each species.
Each student designs an individual format for his or her field guide.