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How will the ratings of 1-4 be determined?
Students’ ability to meet the learning standards will be determined by using multiple forms of assessment, just as they have been in the past. The Marzano rubric will be used to help teachers identify the child’s performance on the benchmarks. The final report card score represents scores attained over time or a "learning trend" which places more emphasis on end-of-unit assessments than early formative assessments.
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Why do some concepts have no score?
The report card lists all of the benchmarks for the year. Because some lessons are taught early in the year and others later, not all items will be scored in each quarter. By the end of the year, all benchmarks will have a score.
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Why isn’t the average the final grade?
The grade is designed to communicate the level of learning the student ultimately achieved, not an average of performance. It may be helpful to think of a runner trying to reach a certain time for running the mile. If the goal is to be able to run the mile consistently in seven minutes, and the runner has three months to get to that level, it doesn’t make sense to average in the higher times from the first few runs as the runner gets in shape. Similarly, we are measuring how well students demonstrate their skill and understanding once they have had the opportunity to learn, rather than, in effect, penalizing them for their initial attempts. It is how far they get that counts.
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Are these the equivalent of A, B, C, D, and F, or scores on a 100-point scale?
This standards-based system is not the same as a traditional grading system. While any symbol could be used (letters, numbers, etc.), the important things to remember are that:
1) On a standards-based report card, the grade represents the level of learning reached by the student by the end of the period of study, not an average of performance over the period.
2) Other, non-academic factors are not mixed in with the academic grade, but are instead graded separately.
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How will these scores be reported to families?
The rubric scores for the benchmarks assessed each quarter will be reported at the end of each quarter. You should expect to see several blank boxes. This is because the entire curriculum cannot be taught at once. While some benchmarks will be addressed throughout the entire year, others will be phased in as the school year progresses.
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Why are there multiple standards for the same subject? Why not just one grade?
In a traditional system, it is not possible to see strengths and weaknesses when different elements of the subject are all lumped together. For example, a student who received a “B” in English language arts might be very strong in writing but weak in analyzing literature, or he could be at the same level in both areas—the overall grade doesn’t show this. By providing more specific descriptions of the benchmarks and rating students on each, students and parents can see where performance excels and where it needs to improve. We are excited about the opportunity to improve the way we measure and communicate student learning.
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Is it true that it is virtually impossible for a student to earn a “4”?
No. The rating of “4” will be used when the quality of the student’s independent work clearly exceeds the expectations for the standard. However, it should be noted that, since we have tried to establish high expectations for meeting the standard (i.e., a rating of “3”), it is unlikely that ratings of “4” will be as frequent as ratings of “A” would be on a traditional report card.
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