Implementation of the New Standards Based Report Card: Answers for Teachers
North Clackamas School District is implementing a new Standards-Based report card for all
elementary students. The purpose of this document is to address questions from teachers as
they implement the report card in December 2013.
Why are we using a new report card?
The purpose of the new report card is to improve communication with parents and others about
a student’s progress toward meeting important “end of grade” level standards. This standards
based report card supports best practice in our classrooms and reflects the strong link between
standards, instruction, curriculum, and assessment in the elementary program. The new report
card is in compliance with the Oregon Administrative Rule that report cards:
• Clearly show the student and parents whether the student is achieving course
requirements (standards-based) at the student’s current grade level;
• Be based on the student’s progress toward becoming proficient in a continuum of
knowledge and skills; and
• Assure that the student’s academic grade reflects his/her academic performance;
behavioral performance shall be reported separately.
How were the standards on the report card selected?
A committee comprised of North Clackamas teachers from each grade level designed the new
report card during the 2012-13 school year. The committee members met several times to:
determine the purpose of the report card; review the standards for each subject area, determine
which standards would be most helpful to report to parents, and in some cases, rewrite them in
language that was more understandable to parents and students. The report card we are using
this year is based on that work. We will be collecting your comments and suggestions
throughout the year to assess the need for any changes to the report card for next year.
Does this mean that I am only teaching the standards on the report card? What about all
the other standards?
The standards on the report card are derived from Oregon’s adopted standards for all subject
areas. They do not include all of the standards for a grade, but were selected as a
representative group of standards that would be important to report to parents and others.
Teachers will continue to be responsible for teaching and assessing all of the Oregon State
Standards for their grade level.
We are using “proficiency” to communicate student progress. What do we mean by
proficiency?
In our new system, proficiency is always related to a standard (what the student should know)
and describes performance (what the student does) when a student is skilled in the standard.
Students in your classroom will be continually making progress toward proficiency (or beyond)
by the end of the school year. All of our reporting periods (Fall, Winter, and Spring) will be
reporting student progress toward “end of year” grade level standards. The marks earned by
the student reflect multiple measures and evaluation of “current performance” (where the
student is at the end of the reporting period). To determine proficiency accurately, teachers
should base their grading on the highest levels of performance on the standard that the student
is able to consistently demonstrate, NOT on percentages, averages, or behavioral components
(e.g., homework completion, absences, tardies, etc.).
What do the new “Descriptors of Proficiency” mean?
The report card committee spent considerable time determining and defining the descriptors of
proficiency that are used in the report card. These descriptors were developed for the report
card but may also be used when grading student work and/or developing rubrics for evaluating
specific assessments. Consistent use of these descriptors will improve our communication with
students, parents, and with our colleagues. The descriptors are as follows:
E = Exceeding Grade Level Standards: The student who receives this descriptor is
demonstrating performance that is above the end of year grade level expectation. Students
who are exceeding are able to apply learning to new situations and independently use
strategies and skills. They are able to do work that is expected of a student in a higher grade.
Some foundational skills may not have an “Exceeds.” For example, once a student knows all
the letters of the alphabet, there are no ways to demonstrate “exceeding” this standard.
M= Meeting Grade Level Standards: This descriptor indicates that the student has met the
end-of-year target for the skill or concept. The goal is for all students to receive this
grade (or above) by the end of the year. If you have taught to end of year content standards
by the time of the reporting period, many of your students will receive an “M.” There may be
some foundational standards and math standards that are completed prior to the end of the
school year.
P = Progressing toward Grade Level Standards: The student receiving this descriptor is
progressing and demonstrates basic or inconsistent application of end of year concepts
and skills. This grade would be appropriate for an “on-level” student in the Fall and Winter for
many of the standards. The student is making expected progress but is not yet at end-of-year
standards. It is important to communicate students and parents that a P indicates that he
or she is “on track” to achieving a “Meets” by the end of the school year. This descriptor
will be used frequently in the Fall and Winter for students who are not meeting the end of year
standard but for whom you do not have concerns about their rate of progress toward grade level
standards.
L = Limited Progress towards Grade Level Standards: The student receiving this descriptor
shows limited understanding of end of year concepts and skills. Student performance is
“below” grade level and may need more support at school to catch up. The students receiving
this mark on several of the standards are students with whom you are working more intensively
independently and communicating with parents and colleagues to develop plans to support their
progress.
NA = Not Addressed: This mark indicates that standards were not addressed during this
grading period. Use this grade when you have not yet taught and assessed the standard. You
may also use this if you have just begun to teach the standard in your classroom at the time of
the reporting period. It is a good idea to collaborate with your grade level team to determine
when you will use NA on the report card so that there will be less confusion for parents and
students.
How will I determine which grades to assign a student?
Throughout the school year, teachers are using multiple formative and summative assessments
of students to track their progress toward achieving standards for their grade. These
assessments will provide the evidence you need for determining a student’s proficiency level.
Generally, teachers should use the highest level of proficiency that a student is able to
consistently demonstrate as they near the end of the grading period. For great information on
this topic, check out How to Create and Use Rubrics for Formative Assessment and Grading by
Susan Brookhart, published in 2013 by ASCD. http://www.ascd.org/Publications/ascdauthors/susan-brookhart.aspx
NCSD is currently working on developing proficiency rubrics and common formative and
summative assessments that teachers can access to more consistently assess and grade
students. As these tools are completed, we will share them via our district Instructional website.
There are also a number of tools available through the Oregon Department of Education
Website and the Smarter Balanced Consortium. Several states have also published proficiency
rubrics linked to Common Core (see the end of this document for some links you may find
helpful).
What if a student is able to independently demonstrate parts, but not all of a standard?
If a student is able to demonstrate some, but not all parts of a reported standard, they would
likely receive a “P” for progressing. It is only when students are able to demonstrate all aspects
of the end of year standard that they would receive an “M.”
As a team have tested our students on the standards listed in math for this trimester on
the report card. If we have a student who consistently gets 100% on all the assessments,
do we still mark them with a "P" and not "M"?
If the assessments you have given are reflective of end of year standards and the students have
received 100% on them, that would be a Meets. However, if your assessments are only
partially measuring the standard or are benchmarks along the way to the end of the year
assessment, than the students would only get a P, even though they have 100%. So, it really
depends on your measures! With proficiency grading, the "percentages" on a student's
assessment are not as important as how their performance on an assessment matches with
progress toward end of year proficiency.
I understand that we are assessing student’s proficiency to the “end of year standards.”
It is now the first or second reporting period and I have not taught to end of year
standards. Does that mean that it is only possible for my students to earn a “P” or “L” for
this period?
Although you have only taught some of the content for the school year in your classroom, it is
possible (and probable) that some of your students may have already achieved proficiency on
the standard. It is important that you report each individual student’s progress toward
proficiency, and not give a grade for the entire class based on what you have taught. As you
are assessing students, consider doing occasional assessments that would allow a student to
demonstrate their proficiency on the end of year standard, even if you haven’t directly taught the
content yet. This will help you to determine whether individual students in your class have
already met the standard and will need extensions.
If we have already finished instruction on a standard for the year, and the student has
already earned a “Meets” or “Exceeds,” do I need to continue reporting for that
standard?
Yes. While there may be some standards that are not addressed during the first one or two
reporting periods, students should receive a proficiency grade for every standard at the last
reporting period. Near the end of a reporting period, it will be “best practice” to re-evaluate
students on the standards they have learned throughout the school year to ensure that all
students continue to demonstrate proficiency, and in some cases, have moved beyond a
“Meets” to “Exceed” on the standard.
*An exception to this is in the Science standards. If the reported standard is very specific to
content that would be difficult to reassess, it is acceptable to put an “NA” as the grade in future
terms. It is important that each science standard be graded during at least one period.
At our recent training, our trainers said that “we will be shifting from summative to
formative assessments.” Does this mean we won’t be doing summative assessments
anymore?
What we hoped to communicate is that BOTH summative and formative assessments are
important in understanding a student’s proficiency. However, waiting to complete a summative
assessment at the end of the term is the least helpful approach to give a teacher the kind of
information he or she needs to accurately grade a student. Students need multiple
opportunities, over time, to show both what they have learned and how independently and
consistently they can demonstrate and apply their knowledge. This is why more frequent
formative assessments are the way to go for best practice.
I have some students with disabilities in my class who receive services in Special
Education. How do I grade them?
Students with disabilities are graded on the same standards and in the same way that all other
students in your class are graded. Teachers assess progress on all grade level standards.
Some students with disabilities may be well below their grade level on some standards. The
student’s IEP goals should describe the skills the student still needs to learn, and specialists will
include a progress report with each report card. It may be necessary for a teacher to provide for
accommodations when conducting assessments of student growth on grade level standards.
For example, if a student has difficulty with reading, it may be appropriate to read math
problems to students when doing assessments of math. Using accommodations will allow you
to get a fair and accurate assessment of student proficiency toward grade level standards. If it
is necessary to modify instruction and assessments so that they are no longer at “grade level”
the student will likely earn a grade of “L” on the report card. Teachers may wish to use the
comments section to inform parents of content areas that are modified.
Can I send the report card home in other languages?
Yes! In Synergy, you can have the report card printed in Spanish to send home to families. We
don't have Russian and Vietnamese report cards in Synergy, however, you can get them on the
district website at http://www.nclack.k12.or.us/Page/20257. You can send them with your report
card in English and parents can read them side by side.
How can I communicate effectively with parents?
We understand that parents will have many questions about the report card. We have
communicated with parents via school meetings, newsletter articles, and have a webpage for
more resources (http://www.nclack.k12.or.us//Domain/3995 You will be sending home a twopage letter along with the report card that provides some detailed explanation. Parents and
teachers who have questions and comments can also send an email to
reportcards@nclack.k12.or.us and they will receive a personal response. If parents have lots of
questions about the report card during conferences, teachers are encouraged to refer parents to
the email address, website, and/or the principal so that the conference can stay focused on the
student's performance. We will also have a survey that you can direct parents can fill out on to
share their input, comments, and questions. This survey will be available during conferences.
What resources are available?
Our district Instruction website (http://www.nclack.k12.or.us/Page/16328) will be continually
updating resources for teachers to use in proficiency grading. We have some committees
working this year to create tools and resources. We have also found that there are some
internet resources available that you may find helpful! A strategy for getting ideas is to type in
the number of the standard (e.g., RL.2.4) you are working on and you will find resources and
tools. A small list of the best we have found include:
www.engageny.org (Lots of resources about Common Core)
http://www.readtennessee.org/ (Links to assessments and detailed descriptors of standards)
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ (Practical tools/curriculum resources for teachers)
http://www.marzanoresearch.com/resources/proficiency-scale-bank
http://www.hcschools.org/literacy Rubrics and CCSS information
http://readingandwritingproject.com/resources/assessments/performance-assessments.html
(From Columbia Teachers College)