Report in .pdf format
What the new report card looks like
03-04 report card dates
Words kindergartners should know
Words first-graders should know
K-6 standards-based report card in the 2003-2004 school year. Standards-based education is not new to the district or the state. Standards have been an important part of the curriculum in WCCUSD for a number of years. District standards, based on state standards in English/language arts, math, science, and history/social science, were written and Board-approved in 1999. We have implemented the standards with standards-based texts and standards-based lessons. All students in grades 2-11 are assessed every year on the State Standards with the California STAR testing program. The new report card is another tool in this standards-based system.
Ideally a report card is an ongoing conversation between teacher, students, and parents about what is expected of students and how to help them be successful in a rigorous academic program. A mark on the report card is a summary statement of student performance in a subject area. Marks should be a statement of what students have achieved academically, not how hard they worked, how they compare with classmates, or how well they have behaved. Report cards should communicate how well students are progressing toward being proficient on a grade-level standard.
Standards-based report cards will require all of us to change the way we view the report card. Marks on the standards-based report card provide summary information on how well the student is meeting grade level standards. These marks are based on teacher evidence of student performance against the year-end standards. The marks may come from a combination of tasks that are scored using rubrics, graded classroom assessments, district assessments, teacher observations, or other criteria. Teachers and grade level teams may create standards-based assessments that provide added information.
It is crucial to note that standards are set for a student's achievement through the end of the year and not according to a single trimester. Some standards take all year to achieve, while others may be completed within a specific trimester. This means that a student on track to meet all of the standards might well have a report card filled with "2"s the first trimester (2 = approaching grade-level standard) as the student progresses towards mastery by the end of the year.
History of the Standards-Based Report Card in WCCUSD
In 2000-2001 an Elementary Standards-Based Report Card Committee was called together by Susie VanDeVeer and Kaye Burnside. Jennifer Jennings and Roz Plishner facilitated meetings with teachers and representatives from Special Education, ELD/Bilingual and the Curriculum Departments. The members of the committee shared research on standards-based report card development and examined standards-based report cards from other districts. The report card development reflected district work done on power standards in English/Language Arts and Mathematics. Draft report cards were developed for grades K-6 with the intent to pilot in 2001-2002.
The pilot was put on hold in 2001 due to a concern over the power standards vis-à-vis the latest research from the National Reading Panel Report.
In the fall of 2002, the Elementary Curriculum Committee was informed that there would be a standards-based report card pilot in the spring of 2003. Barbara Adams, Harlan Kerr, and Jennifer Jennings edited and made revisions to the draft report cards based on state standards, CST Blueprints, district assessments, and the National Reading Panel Report. A representative group from the 2000-2001 Report Card Committee met to make recommendations for the pilot process and to review the revisions. The superintendent's cabinet reviewed and approved recommendations for Phase 1 of the implementation.
Phase 1 of the standards-based report card implementation process began in the spring of 2003. Eight elementary schools (Chavez, Coronado, El Sobrante, Ford, Lake, Lincoln, Verde, Wilson) piloted the new Standards-Based report card for Trimester 2 and 3. Surveys were given to parents, teachers, and principals at these schools. Over 800 surveys were returned. The Report Card Committee reviewed the surveys and charted the results. The results were overwhelmingly positive. There were some recommendations for improvement and these recommendations were acted upon.
Phase 2 of the implementation process will start in the fall of 2003 when the new Standards-Based Report Card will be used at all of the elementary schools in the district. Feedback from the use of these report cards is encouraged and revisions will be made as necessary for the next phase.
Thanks to everyone who has worked to create WCCUSD's standards-based report card
Standards-Based Report Card Protocol
The most important difference between standards-based education and previous curricular reforms is the focus on what students actually learn, not just what is taught.
How do we know if the student has achieved the standard?
Report cards are one part - an important part - of an integrated system that emphasizes continuous assessment of student progress. An integrated standards-based assessment system should include:
- Student-involved assessment
- Assessment integrated into instruction
- Marks that are aligned to outcome indicators
- Reliable classroom assessments
- Benchmark assessments which include samples of student work
All of this is not in place. But it should be clear from this vision that assessment, therefore, is the measure of standards, and assessment results are communicated through marks.
A mark is the summary statement of student performance in a particular subject area. Marks should be a statement of what students have achieved academically, not how hard they have worked, how much they have improved, how they compare with classmates or how well they behaved. This achievement/mark must be based on assessment data.
Report cards should communicate how well students are progressing toward a standard. Ideally, the report card is an ongoing conversation between teachers, parents/guardians, and students about what is expected of students.
Progress Reports
The DBC states: In the areas of Language Arts and Mathematics, a student in grades 1-3 who is receiving "1", may receive a written progress report. A student in grades 4-6 who is receiving "1" will receive a written progress report. The progress report will be issued at least fifteen days before the report card is completed. A copy will be filed in the student's cumulative folder.
Progress report dates
Standards-Based Report Card Reporting Guidelines
1. Multiple formative assessments can be used to assess student progress:
· Open Court End of Unit Assessments
· Open Court Lesson Assessments
· District Math Assessments
· District Math Program Assessments
· Work Samples and Portfolios
· Observations
· Standards-based Checklists, i.e., letter/number recognition, math terms, high frequency words
· Standards-based Writing Assessment and Rubrics
· Other standards-based Assessments
2. The new standards-based report card format will use the term "marks" in place of grades.
3. Numerical marks will be used to show progress toward standards that should be met by the end of the year in Language Arts and Mathematics.
4. Student performance related to progress toward meeting Mathematics and Language Art standards will be evaluated in the following way:
3 Proficient/Benchmark master of this grade level standard
2 Approaching not at the mastery level yet
1 Experiencing Difficulty needs intensive intervention
¨ Box marked with slash / standard has not been taught
5. Student achievement related to Lifelong Learning Skills, Social Studies, Science, Physical Education, Health, Art, English Language Development, and Music will be evaluated in the following way:
E Excellent
S Satisfactory
N Needs improvement
6. Comments section - This will vary from student to student. This is your opportunity to communicate with parents/guardians. A lot can be said in a sentence or two. If part of your information is negative, it is generally a good idea to balance it with something positive about the student. Marks of "1" should be addressed in the comment section.
Questions & Answers
1) Why is the district changing its report card?
a. The state of California now requires all students to receive instruction in and master the standards for each grade level.
b. A standards-based report card gives a clear message to parents about what their children know, what they are able to do, and what they need to learn in relation to the standards.
c. A standards-based report card shows a higher level of consistency in scoring among teachers and across grade levels.
2) How is the Standards-Based Report Card different then previous report cards?
| Standards Based Report Card |
Traditional Report Card |
|
Major subjects are defined by curriculum or content standards |
Subjects are listed by name. |
|
Numerical levels indicate mastery of the grade level standards. Achievement and effort are reported separately. |
Letter grades A-F reflect an individual teacher's expectations, student effort and achievement. |
|
Curriculum and instruction are aligned with state and district standards |
Curriculum and instruction are teacher centered, textbook driven, and not necessarily aligned to the state standards. |
|
A special report card envelope will be used. |
N/A |
3) Why are special envelopes being used for the standards-based report card?
Using a returnable envelope will provide a safe way to carry the report card home and the opportunity for parent/guardian signatures and comments to be returned to the teacher.
4) Will the new report card be used with special education students?
All RSP and NSH Special Education students will receive the Standards-based IEP Report for Language Arts and/or Math. Teachers need not mark these areas on the regular standards-based report card if the student is receiving the separate IEP Report. Lifelong Learning Skills and other Subject Levels are to be marked on the standards-based report card. The IEP report is to be attached to the standards-based report card. SH students will continue to receive their alternate assessment.
5) Will the new report card be used with bilingual students?
Yes, the report card has been translated into Spanish. In addition, an APL version has been created for students in APL classrooms. The APL version has some alterations to cover areas of letter sound variations that are common in Spanish. The English Language Development Level descriptors are listed on the back of the report card and identify the students ELD level. English Language Development is listed under Other Subject Areas of the report card and a mark is to be given to all students that are identified as LEP.
6) What do parents think of the new report card?
The report card was piloted in eight schools. Over 600 surveys were received from parents at these schools. The overwhelming response was extremely positive. The parents felt that they had a better understanding of the expectations for their child. They also felt that it helped them better understand what they could do to help their child succeed in school.
7) If we are grading on a trimester, why can't we grade students on the trimester instead of looking at the whole year?
The report card allows marking for where students are at the time of the report (each trimester). In the majority of cases, a whole year is needed for students to meet the standards at their grade level. There might be an exception with a GATE student, for example. However, even in these cases it is unlikely that even a very advanced student would meet all of the grade level standards in the first trimester.
8) How will we explain the report card to parents in a concise, meaningful, understandable way?
At parent conferences in November, teachers will hand out and discuss a parent brochure on the new standards-based report card. Teachers are encouraged to also share the grade-level report card at this time. Presentations are being made at parent group meetings (GATE, MDAC, CAC, and Bayside Council PTA) throughout the fall.
9) Can we give a "3" in the first trimester?
Yes, however, this would be a rare and exceptional circumstance such as you might encounter with a GATE student. You must show evidence, using assessments, that the student has achieved the proficient level. Receiving a "3" on some standards does not automatically assume that the student has achieved all the standards for the current grade level.
10) Will there by changes to this report card?
We can modify the report card at the end of the year. Teacher, principal, and parent surveys and teacher focus groups will provide feedback this year. Surveys will be conducted at the end of the second trimester. Parent surveys will be sent home at that time.
11) How does the report card compare to the old A-F report cards? Will the scoring or levels be comparable to the old report card?
On the traditional report card, subjects are listed by name, such as "reading." On the standards-based report card, major subjects are more specifically defined by the content standard.
The traditional report card uses A-F grades. Grades can reflect an individual teacher's expectations, student effort and achievement. Grades do not indicate a student's proficiency level on the academic content standards. The standards-based report card uses numerical levels that indicate mastery of the grade-level standards. Effort and learning behaviors are reported separately.
In a traditional system, the curriculum and instruction are teacher selected, textbook driven, and do not necessarily relate to the standards. The standards-based report card is based on the standards that each student is required to meet for each grade level. The curriculum (what we teach), the instruction (how we teach), and the evaluation are all aligned to the standards.
The scoring and proficiency levels on the standards-based report card are not comparable to the previous report card. The standards-based report card is based on the content standards. The previous report card was not based on these standards.
12) How do we do honor roll?
We are exploring different ways to honor student achievement using the standards-based report card. Any suggestions would be most appreciated on the report card surveys being sent home with the second trimester report card.
13) My understanding as a parent is that I will see "1"s on the report card if my child is experiencing difficulty at the grade level standards.
Correct. The numeral "1" indicates the student is experiencing difficulty at the grade-level standard. Students who receive a "2" show partial mastery of the knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at the grade-level standard.
During the first trimester, we expect the majority of students to receive "2"s since it is the beginning of the school year and students are not expected to have met the standards for their grade level yet. We expect the majority of students to receive "3"s by the end of the year. |
