GAPS Curriculum & Instruction Update
Elementary ~ January 2014
How to make sense of your child’s report card.
Dear Parents,
This year you are receiving a report card generated by our Pinnacle program. This program has been used
at Timber Ridge. We are now using Pinnacle at all of the Elementary Schools and Middle Schools to
generate report cards.
We have made this change so our academic and behavior reporting meets State of Oregon expectations
and is aligned with the Common Core State Standards. A “standard” is a written description of what a
student should know and be able to do in a subject area. They are the same in all schools in Oregon.
Teachers develop their lessons and report student performance based on these standards. You will not see
details about each specific standard (there are hundreds) but you will see categories that represent specific
standard areas. Most specifically you will notice changes in Reading and Writing. These subjects are
now incorporated into English Language Arts (ELA). Speaking and Listening are also part of ELA.
Our goal is for you to receive information about how your child is doing in relation to the Common Core
State Standards they are expected to know and be able to do. We want this new report card to lead you to
examine which standards your child understands and is able to perform since this is what drives your
child’s grade (score). For this to happen you need information on what is incorporated into each subject
area. The report card will show you sub-categories, called Domains, in the two core academic areas of
English Language Arts and Mathematics. The additional pages of this insert will explain in greater detail
what those Domains mean.
Tips for talking to your
child’s teacher:
Characteristics of a
successful learner:
 Make an appointment. You will receive more
information if the teacher has time to prepare.
One of the biggest changes this year is looking
at effort and citizenship separate from the
academic knowledge a student can show
through the work they complete. All three
areas are important to your child’s success.
 Keep the conversation focused and timely.
Write down prioritized questions.
 Ask to see a sample of your child’s work.
Then, ask: Is this piece of work satisfactory?
How could it be better? What should my child
be able to do by the end of the year? How can I
help my child improve? Are there resources to
help outside of the classroom?
 Take notes and stay positive. Develop a
partner-ship with your child’s teacher that
contributes to your child’s success.
 Communicate when stressful circumstances
are occurring—loss of a job, divorce, death in
family, family illness, etc. This helps the
teacher prepare for and understand why your
child’s learning could be impacted.
YES! – Homework (practicing skills taught
in school) and getting work in on time is very
important! It is so important that it gets a
separate grade called Effort.
YES! - How a student behaves in class is
important! It is so important that it gets a
separate grade called Citizenship.
Academic Knowledge
Citizenship
Effort
How is my child graded?
When we were in school…
It used to be that teachers would give an
assignment, quiz, or test and grade students on
how many questions they got right or wrong.
This was then calculated into a percentage
grade. Seven out of 10 questions right was a
70% and a ‘C’ grade. Multiple assignments
would be averaged into an overall subject grade.
What an average grade doesn’t tell you is how
well a student knows or doesn’t know the
material taught. If the grade was low because of
not getting work in versus not understanding the
material then the grade is mixing two different
things; academic knowledge and behavior
(getting work in on time).
Additionally, low grades that occurred early on
during new instruction were averaged into final
grades even if later in the unit you could show
you understood the material being covered.
By the end of the unit, you may have known the
content but your calculated average still gave
you a low grade.
How we are approaching
grades now…
Teachers today are being asked to evaluate
each student in terms of their demonstration
of the Standards.
We are no longer using a percentage
calculation but rather gathering evidence of
students Meeting a standard, Nearly Meeting,
Not Yet Meeting and in some cases
Exceeding the standard. Not all daily
assignments have problems that allow a
student to show they exceed the standard.
Most assignments when completed correctly
show a student understands what they should
and thus are Meeting that standard.
You cannot compare an ‘A’ grade to
Exceeding, a ‘B’ grade to Meeting, a ‘C’
grade to Nearly Meeting. They are two
different systems of calculation and
assessment.
Academic Scores of 0-4 are given for each
Subject or Sub-category:
Effort and Citizenship Scores of 1-4
are given as their own ‘grade’:
4=
3=
2=
1=
0=
4 = Exceeds grade level standards
3 = Meets grade level standards
2 = Nearly meets grade level standards
1 = Not meeting grade level standards
Exceeds grade level standards
Meets grade level standards
Nearly meets grade level standards
Not meeting grade level standards
Not yet assessed
What these scores mean in general
terms.
4 = Exceeds: The student demonstrates mastery of grade-level
standards with ease and consistency that often exceeds the
cognitive level of the standards. The student applies and
extends the learning.
3 = Meets Standard: The student demonstrates mastery of
grade-level standards at the difficulty the standard is
written. The student consistently understands and applies key
concepts, processes, and skills with limited errors.
2 = Nearly Meets Standard: The student demonstrates mastery
of some grade-level standards. The student often has significant
errors in their understanding and application of the key
concepts, processes, and skills.
1 = Not Yet Meeting Standard: The student is not yet
demonstrating or performing at grade-level standards.
Effort Standards





Completes work with quality and accuracy
Completes work on time
Organizes time and materials
Independent worker; stays with task
Participates in class discussions and
activities
Citizenship Standards





Works well with others
Listens and follows directions
Safe – Follows school safety rules
Responsible – Self manages behavior
Respectful – Shows consideration for self
and others, authority and property
What about homework?
One of the many questions regarding homework is what role it plays in learning and a student’s final
grade. Each school and teacher structures homework differently based on many factors, including
age. The core purpose of homework is to practice and review skills and strategies that are being
learned in class to gain proficiency. Students should only be working on material they have already
had some experience with during class. Homework is measured in the effort grade, not the academic
grade since homework is not an assessment tool that measures mastery.
Parents often wonder how they can help their child if they do not understand the homework or if the
methods are different from their own experience. Parents are not expected to be teachers, but parent
interest and support of homework by structuring a homework routine has a positive impact on
achievement. When the homework gets difficult, ask questions that help your child remember what they
can and to think through what their teacher asked or presented. Remember, READING (to your student,
your student to you, or your student independently) is one of the most powerful forms of homework
practice.
If homework is a struggle, communicate with your child’s teacher via a note on the homework, an email,
or a phone call about both the understandings and misunderstandings you see for your child. This will
help the teacher guide your child’s learning forward.
“Homework is a strategy that provides students with opportunities
to deepen their understanding of content and gain proficiency with their skills.
It also gives students a chance to practice and review what they have learned.”
~ Robert Marzano
Grades in January vs. Grades in June
Resources
To Check Out
Teachers provide grades that show how your child is doing at this
point in the year. The subsequent pages will show you an
overview of the skills we would like them to have at the end of the
year but in January teachers are using student evidence along with
their professional judgment of your child’s progress to provide
you a mid-year score (grade).
www.corestandards.org/in-thestates
It is possible that your child could be meeting or even exceeding
current expectations and at the end of the year only be meeting or
nearly meeting. As new academic content is taught and the rigor
in which we expect students to show what they know increases, it
is possible your child may not be at the same level of meeting that
they are now.
www.cgcs.org/Domain/36
It is also possible that your child may be nearly meeting or not yet
meeting in certain subject areas but by the end of the year, with
more practice and time to absorb what they are learning, they “get
it” and their final grade (score) changes as well.
Students are not judged against how other students are doing in
class but rather assessed regarding if they know or don’t know a
standard. Those individual standard assessments are folded into
one overall subject domain grade. These domain sub-categories
are what make up an overall subject focus.
www.corestandards.org/aboutthe-standards
www.ode.state.or.us
Type ‘ccss parent toolkit’ into the
search bar.
Communicate with your child every day about
school and what they are learning.
You do not have to have the answer to the problems your child is working on. Just…
 Make sure your child goes to school on time every day. Attendance is KEY! Students who miss
school fall behind. Real time conversations and questions that occur in the classroom cannot be recreated
in a worksheet.
 Have high expectations. With time and practice all students will learn the concepts they need to know.
 There are ways to help even when you are unsure how to help. Ask questions like, “Tell me what
you’ve done so far?”, “What did the teacher ask you to do?”, “What problems like this one have you
done before?”
 Ask your child if he/she can skip this problem and go onto the next one. Are there similar problems to
look at?
 Help your child develop a growth mindset. Children develop confidence from hard work.
Acknowledge that overcoming challenges with persistence, trying new things, and seeing mistakes as
learning opportunities is what makes us smart.
 Give feedback. Praise effort (not intelligence.) Admire progress. Congratulate successful strategies used
for studying, managing time, or working through challenges.
Growth-Mindset
Parents often wonder what they can do to help their child. One of the more powerful actions to take is to
foster a growth mindset. People who hold a growth mindset know that abilities can be developed through
dedication and hard work. Talent (innate ability) is not enough. Students with a growth mindset have the
beliefs and attitudes about themselves and their environment that equip them to withstand challenges and
setbacks. “Productive persistence”, the interplay of motivation and engagement, in the face of difficulty is
nurtured by:
 Understanding that the process of learning starts with NOT knowing. The brain develops new connections
and strengthens over time by being stretched, trying new things, and practice. The “…brain is like a
muscle that gets stronger as they (children) use it.” ~ Carol Dweck

Finding value and interest in new topics and skills and seeking ways to make them relevant to their lives.

Believing that effort will pay off and that success is within reach.

Setting goals that are challenging, yet attainable, and developing a sense of responsibility.

Developing skills to avoid distractions, stay on task, and navigate through obstacles.

Give specific, frequent, and honest feedback. What can be exactly done to improve? Emphasize actions
that your child has the power to change.

Avoid praising for ability. Studies show that when children are praised for having high ability and getting
things “right”, it leaves them more vulnerable to self-doubt when they are faced with a challenge later. If
being successful means that she is “smart,” then she is likely to conclude that she is not smart when having
a hard time.

Praise for effort . Examples: “your studying really paid off”, “sticking with it even though it was difficult
helped you persevere to the end”, “your hours of practice helped you achieve success.” If effort did not
pay off and isn’t the problem, help your child figure out what is.
Want to learn more? Check out the book Mindset by Carol Dweck, Google” Dweck +Mindset” or
check out these sites: www.mindsetworks.com or www.mindsetonline.com.