Elementary Report Card

A new Parkland elementary report card was rolled out in the Fall of 2014.  This web page communicates the reasons why we made this change along with resources that explain the new report card format.

A series of Powtoon videos has been created to share more information about the new report card.  Please click on each one linked below.

Background and Purpose
A committee of teachers, administrators, parents and a school board member met throughout the past year to develop and give input on the new standards-based report card.  The purpose of this report card is to communicate with parents and students about the achievement of grade level expectations. The results reflect how well students have met established learning goals, highlight successes, and guide improvements.

How does the new one differ from the old one?
Standards-based report cards differ from traditional report cards.  Traditional report cards measure many different factors including how well students do in comparison to their classmates, how well behaved they are in class or the effort they put into their work.  A standards-based report card measures how well an individual student is doing in relation to the grade level standards/skills, not the work of other students or non-academic tasks.  Another difference is how a teacher arrives at the end of quarter grade.  A traditional report card averages grades earned over a marking period.  A standards-based report card looks at progress over the course of the marking period.  For example, if a child did not grasp a concept in September, but can demonstrate proficiency in October, the September "grade" does not penalize the child's overall grade.

Will behavior still be addressed?
The committee felt strongly about the behaviors that make a respectful and responsible learner.  These characteristics will be reported separately on the new standards-based report card but will not impact the way progress is reported out for core academic areas.

The 4-point scale change
Students will be marked using a 4 point scale indicating how well a student has mastered the grade-level standards.  One of the adjustments for students and parents will be that the report card focuses on end of year standards/goals. This means that in the first, second or third marking period, a student may not be proficient in some skills.  Although this is normal since most students will not meet all of the year’s goals in the first quarter, it can be disconcerting to parents and students used to seeing all “A’s.”

Another change surrounds the concept of “Advanced (4)” and “Proficient (3).”  Advanced on a standards-based report card is not necessarily the equivalent of an A on a traditional report card.  For example, in a traditional reporting system, if a 4^th grader received “A’s” on every math test during the semester, he/she would probably receive an “A” on his/her report card.  In a standards-based reporting system, if those assessments measured only the concepts fourth graders are expected to master, those “A’s” would be the equivalent of “Proficient (3).”  The student is doing what he or she should be doing, but not necessarily more. In order for a student to score “Advanced (4),” they must independently use and apply knowledge in ways that demonstrate higher level thinking skills.  In other words, they must perform at a high level independently.

Standards-based report cards allow teachers and parents to focus on student learning goals from the beginning of the year.  This gives students a chance to get help when needed.

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