CLEARFIELD – An updated version of elementary school report cards was reviewed by the Clearfield Area School District Board of Directors at Monday night’s committee meetings. The board is being requested to approve a switch to a one-page format for kindergarten through fourth grades.
Last year, the staff advised administrators that the currently used format needed some revision, according to Bruce Nicolls, director of curriculum and instruction. For most part, the new reporting format will be the same for k-4 but will have some variations across the grade levels.
He said under the new format, teachers would be reporting in grade categories, using a 3-2-1 grade level proficiency scale. He said they’ll continually work on the reporting descriptions year-to-year so that they’re in the most “parent friendly” language while also reflecting their current focus and curricula.
A 3-rating ranks a student’s skills as above or superior for their grade level. Further, a 2-rating means a student’s skills are as expected for their grade level, while a 1-rating means they aren’t meeting the expectations of their grade level, Nicolls said.
At that point, board member Dr. Michael Spencer asked about whether the teachers would consistently apply the 3-2-1 grading scale.
“Do they know how to determine what is a 3, what is a 2, what is a 1? If I knock on the classroom next door, is it going to be the same? We want to make sure they’re all (grading) the same,” he said.
Nicolls agreed and indicated it would be an “important issue” to be addressed during a teacher in-service day in October. He said the administration not only wants teachers to know what they’re looking for, but also to work with them to arrive at a consensus.
“We know teachers view things differently. These are discussions that we just have to have,” Nicolls said. Spencer then asked Nicolls about what criteria teachers would use for determining if a student has earned a 3-rating.
Nicolls said any student who would receive the highest rating would be demonstrating skills above his/her grade level. For example, they may be at a higher reading level for their grade, or beginning advanced concepts ahead of their classmates in mathematics.
However, he expects students will receive more 2-ratings than any other. In addition, he indicated that any 1-ratings would serve as conversation starters between the teachers and parents.
In July, Nicolls presented drafts of the elementary report cards to school board members. He and members of the elementary administration had previously presented them to parents, and he reported positive feedback from them.