September 8, 2010
Dear Carter Lake, Clarkmoor, or Dower Parent,
Clover Park School District is in the midst of a multi-year process intended to update the district’s Elementary School report card. The current district report card format is over 20 years old and was designed to support student learning objectives that are no longer in use. The current district report card does not provide parents with information on how their student is progressing toward meeting current state standards in any subject area.
Carter Lake will join Clarkmoor and Dower Elementary Schools in piloting a new report card system during the 2010-11 school year that is directly connected to the standards being taught and assessed in Washington State. Clarkmoor and Dower Elementary Schools both piloted the first draft of the standards-based report cards during the 2009-10 school year. Feedback from staff and parents was used to revise the standards-based report cards for this year. This new system of standards-based reporting and has been designed to provide you with a more consistent and accurate understanding of the progress your student is making in school.
Standards based reporting is different from traditional report cards in several ways. Under a traditional report card system, work given a grade of “A” in one school or classroom may have gotten a “C” in another school or classroom even though the work was the same. Because standards are used in every public school in Washington State, the expectations for every student in the system will be the same. No matter where you live or which teacher your child has, the standards are the same for all students who live in Washington State. Also, students used to be graded against each other’s progress. Remember when grades tended to be more subjective? In a math class where none of the students did an outstanding job, a student could get an “A” for the best work, even if it was not very good. With standards-based report cards, everyone will know how good the work must be to meet the standard, and a grade will tell you whether your child has performed the task as well as he/she should.
The new report card will report progress towards standard using the following performance levels:
Exceeds Standard (4) – The student demonstrates exceptional performance and skills appropriate to content and grade level. The student consistently goes beyond requirements in subject area.
Meets Standard (3): The student consistently demonstrates solid performance appropriate to content and grade level. The student applies skills in a variety of situations.
Approaching Standard (2): The student show partial accomplishment of grade level knowledge and/or demonstrates inconsistent performance of skills and often needs support. The student is showing progress over time.
Below Standard (1): The student demonstrates little or no progress or achievement at grade level. The student may be working on materials below grade level.
N/A: Not assessed at this time.
No Evidence (0): No evidence.
Did you notice that behavior, attitude and effort have been deleted? Student learning behaviors will be recorded separately from academic achievement, providing parents with specific information about a child’s proficiency in both the skills of being a learner as well as the content of the subject matter.
A note for parents of outstanding, high-achieving students! It will be a rare occasion when a student receives a “4.” A “4” indicates that a student is achieving beyond the requirements of a subject area. Students will have to demonstrate this very high level of achievement on a consistent basis to receive this mark.
You will be given the opportunity to provide your child’s teacher and the school district with feedback on the new report card system. If you have questions about this process, please contact me. We greatly appreciate your participation and perspectives in this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Brian Laubach
Director of Teaching and Learning
235.583.5141
blaubach@cloverpark.k12.wa.us