Madison Metropolitan School District
Department of Educational Services
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETING REPORT CARDS AND PROMOTION FOR
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES - Revised March, 2014
GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETING REPORT CARDS
IDEA requires that students with disabilities have an opportunity to be involved and progress in the general
curriculum. The general curriculum represents material which is taught and is defined by the MMSD by the
content standards at each grade level.
The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) expects that all students will be taught within the
standards-based general education curriculum to the extent possible, with the opportunity to progress and be
involved in learning with grade level peers. Thus, it is important for all staff who instruct students requiring
differentiated curriculum to clearly understand the meaning of accommodations and modifications. Doing so
allows the teacher to meet the educational needs of their students and communicate effectively about their
involvement and progress in a standards-based general curriculum:
 Accommodations: Accommodations are changes in the way instruction is provided or the way in which
the student is expected to respond during instruction. Instructional accommodations do not
substantively change the content of what is taught. Viewed from a different perspective,
accommodations provide students equal access to instruction and or evaluation of learning.
 Modifications: Modifications are significant changes in the content or level of what is taught.
If a student is involved full-time in the standards-based general curriculum for a content area (with or without
accommodations), the student must receive a number or letter grade. A student is considered full-time in the
general curriculum for a content area if:
 the student is working on approximately the same curricular goals/standards as grade level peers, and
 the same performance expectations are applied to the student (e.g., the student is expected to become as
proficient in the same number of curricular goals/standards as the other students in the class).
Supplementary instruction in a content area that enables the student to work towards proficiency in the subject
area does not preclude the student from being considered full-time in the general curriculum if the curricular
goals/standards and performance expectations are the same as the other students in the class. Moreover, it is not
permissible to alter or reduce a student’s grade when receiving accommodations.
Grading Students with Modified Curriculum
The following provides guidance where the use of an asterisk is appropriate to consider for students with
disabilities.
Students with disabilities: The use of an asterisk following a grade will be used when the content of the
curriculum has been modified to meet a student’s ability level, and the student is not expected to become as
proficient in the same number of curricular goals/standards as other students in the class. Curriculum is
“modified” when significant changes in the content or level are made. For students with disabilities, the
following are reasonable starting points for determining whether curriculum is modified: 1.25 grade levels
below for elementary, 1.5 grade levels below for middle school, and 2 grade levels or more below at the high
school. Please know, these are not strict cut offs rather, they are a starting point for discussion. Ultimately, it is
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Elementary School Guidelines - Completing Report Cards & Promotion – Revised 3/25/14
the IEP team which makes the determination whether curriculum is modified. Furthermore, the State of
Wisconsin has established Extended Grade Band Standards (http://dww.madison.k12.wi.us/es/SpecEd/idea/waa/ExtStandWAA.htm) in
Reading, Mathematics, and Science to guide instruction and curriculum planning for students with significant
cognitive disabilities. The extended standards indicate what students with significant cognitive disabilities are
expected to know and be able to do academically. These extended standards represent modified curriculum. IEP
teams are required to explain the extent to which a student will not be involved full-time in the general
curriculum. There should be consistency between this documentation within the IEP and use of an asterisk.
In all situations where a grade followed by an asterisk is used, parents need to be informed of the rationale and
the comment section of the report card should be used to provide additional information about the student’s
performance in that content area. In addition, for students with disabilities, an IEP Progress Report must be
distributed to the family when report cards are issued.
Determining the point when (or if) accommodation(s) change into modifications is critical to the decision to
utilize an asterisk. As noted previously, accommodations include aids and adjustments that enable the student
with a disability or English language learner to learn and demonstrate what they know and do not fundamentally
alter the curricular standard. The way an individual demonstrates understanding relative to a curricular standard
may differ however. When a student’s curricular standards significantly differ and no longer reflect what his/her
grade level peers are expected to know and do, the student’s work is modified. Caution should be exercised in
this decision as there are circumstances where class activities may be “modified” or altered to assist the student
in developing mastery yet they are working on the same curricular standard.
GUIDELINES FOR PROMOTION
Promotion guidelines
 The IEP team makes the decision about the basis of promotion when the student will be in the 4th grade
during the time frame of the IEP. The basis of promotion is documented on the Present Level of Academic
Achievement and Functional Performance on the student’s IEP.

The student’s basis of promotion is determined as follows:
 The basis of promotion for a content area is the MMSD promotion criteria if the student receives
(or will receive) report card grades of 1 through 4 for every standard in a content area (see reporting
option scenarios above). Students whose basis of promotion is the MMSD promotion criteria can be
eligible for Summer Learning Academy (SLA).
 The basis of promotion for a content area is the IEP if Curriculum is “modified” when significant
changes in the content or level are made. For students with disabilities at the elementary level, a
reasonable starting point for determining whether curriculum is modified is approximately1.25 – 1.5
grade levels below grade level.

If the basis of promotion is the MMSD promotion criteria for one or more core content areas and the student
is at risk for retention, the basis of promotion must be reviewed by the IEP team during the 3rd quarter of the
4th grade year. The purpose of this review is to determine if the necessary and appropriate services have
been provided to enable the student to progress in the general curriculum and meet the MMSD promotion
criteria.

In most cases, the basis of promotion for social studies and science should be the same as the basis of
promotion for language arts. A student’s performance in social studies and/or science is impacted by the
student’s skills in language arts, and therefore the basis of promotion for these areas should be aligned.

The guidelines listed above apply to 3rd grade students for whom the basis of promotion from 4th to 5th
grade is identified on the IEP because the time frame of student’s IEP will extend into 4th grade.
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Elementary School Guidelines - Completing Report Cards & Promotion – Revised 3/25/14
Procedures for reviewing the basis of promotion during the 3rd quarter
Step #1:
The student’s case manager reviews the 2nd quarter report card grades and WKCE test scores (if
available) during the 3rd quarter of the 4th grade year.
Step #2:
If the student is at risk for retention based on the grades and/or test scores, the IEP team must
reconvene prior to the end of the 3rd quarter.
The IEP team meeting may be the student’s
 annual IEP meeting, or
 a review/revise IEP meeting convened for the purpose of addressing the basis of promotion
because the student is at risk for retention
Step #3:
Step #4:
The IEP team determines whether the necessary and appropriate services have been provided to the
student to enable the student to meet the promotion criteria. The following questions can guide the
IEP team in its review:
1. Did the IEP address all areas needed to enable the student to
progress in the general curriculum (i.e., progress in meeting
the grade level standards) so that he/she could be promoted
based on the MMSD promotion criteria?
yes
2. Were sufficient and adequate services identified in the IEP to
enable the student to progress in the general curriculum so that
he/she could be promoted based on the MMSD promotion
criteria?
yes
3. Were the services identified in the IEP provided appropriately
and sufficiently to enable the student to progress in the general
curriculum so that he/she could be promoted based on the
MMSD promotion criteria?
yes
 no
consider
promotion
governed by
IEP
 no
consider
promotion
governed by
IEP
 no
consider
promotion
governed by
IEP
If the IEP team determines that the necessary and appropriate services have not been provided to
enable the student to meet the MMSD promotion criteria for the content area(s), the IEP team
should change the basis of promotion to promotion governed by the IEP for that content area(s).
If the IEP team determines that the necessary and appropriate services have been provided to enable
the student to meet the MMSD criteria for the content area(s), the IEP team should maintain the
basis of promotion as the MMSD promotion criteria.
Step #5:
The Assistant Director of Special Education must be involved in the IEP team decision
whether to continue the MMSD promotion criteria as the basis of promotion when the student
is at risk for retention.
All 4th grade students with disabilities must have the basis of promotion identified in their IEPs in the
eIDEA system. This information may be missing from the eIDEA system for students who transferred to
the MMSD in the last 12 months. Please confirm that the 4th Grade Promotion section in the Present Level
of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance has been completed in eIDEA for all 4th grade
students. If it has not been completed, you will need to reconvene the IEP team by the end of the 3rd
quarter to do so.
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Elementary School Guidelines - Completing Report Cards & Promotion – Revised 3/25/14