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In Austin ISD, we use a system called Frontline or Parent Self-Serve for our official grade book and attendance of record. We will continue to rely on Frontline to serve those primary purposes. Each teacher is responsible for making decisions on which grades will be manually entered into Frontline that count toward a student's official average.

BLEND is a tool, a digital platform, that allows teachers to design blended learning lessons for their students. Think of it as a student's well-organized backpack or portfolio of work that demonstrates growth over time. It also allows students, parents, and teachers to connect and communicate around learning. BLEND does have a grade book that is used as an unofficial place to gauge understanding. Not all grades are in BLEND, and some grades in BLEND may not count toward a student's official grade in Frontline. As we learn to use BLEND, understand that usage is varied from campus to campus and teacher to teacher.

Blended learning is a combination of online digital learning and face-to-face learning that is designed in a way that is responsive to the needs of students. It allows for student and teacher choice that ultimately leads to personalization. Since not all learning is captured online, some grades in BLEND may not paint the whole picture of the learning that has occurred.

Grading Practices

Teachers assess student understanding in many ways and make decisions about which grades count toward a student's final grade in a grading period or term. Those grades are manually entered into Frontline as the official grades regardless of if they come from BLEND or an informal activity face-to-face.

Support for Instructional Concerns

If you have any questions about your child's grades and grading practices, we encourage you to speak directly with your student's teacher in order to gain a clear understanding of how grades work for that course. In addition, if you have questions about how your student is using BLEND in a blended learning environment, reach out to your student's teacher. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about how and what your student is learning and build a relationship with their teacher.

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