May 5 is the midterm and June 18 is the last day of school. By midterm and by the end of the term students and parents will get a progress report like I always provide. I can print out paper copies for families that don’t have Internet at home but remember that I publish my progress reports online. This time the progress report will be different as I’ve mentioned in my previous blog posts and in the letter I sent home. You will see how your child is learning the Science standards that we are studying this term. If you have the time to stop by check your child’s notebook to see what he or she is learning in Science and how he or she is doing.
Please fill out the survey or leave a comment to share your thoughts about how your child learns and what role grades have played in your family. So far three parents have filled out the survey, one parent has left a comment on a blog, and I’ve spoken to two parents about not using grades as rewards or punishments. After talking with my students about Skyward at midterm and end of term we decided that a Pass/No-Pass system of grading seems best. For those families who would prefer letter grades, please let me know and I can provide your child a letter grade at midterm and at the end of term. I will send a letter home for you to mark your choice.
I did check the district’s policy regarding grades and progress reports and it seems to mostly apply to high school. Here’s an excerpt from the Chimacum School Board policy on grading and progress reports:
The board believes that the cooperation of school and home is a vital ingredient in the growth and education of the student and recognizes the responsibility to keep parents informed of student welfare and progress in school.
The issuance of grades, written progress reports and parent conferences on a regular schedule serves as the basis for continuous evaluation of the student’s performance and determining changes that should be made to effect improvement. These written and verbal reports shall be designed to provide information that will be helpful to the student, teacher, counselor and parent.
The district shall comply with the marking/grading system incorporated into the statewide standardized high school transcript. Secondary students’ grade points shall be reported for each term; individually and cumulatively.
The board directs the superintendent to establish a system of reporting student progress and shall require all staff members to comply with such a system as part of their teaching responsibility.
At the beginning of each term, each teacher shall specify in writing the student learning goals or standards for his/her respective courses. If participation is used as the basis of mastery of a goal or standard, a student’s grades may be adversely affected provided on that day there was a graded participation activity. If the teacher does not so advise students in writing, the teacher may not use attendance and participation in the grading process. Individual students who feel that an unjust application of attendance or tardiness factors has been made, may follow the appeal process for resolving the differences.
It seems that continuing the standards-based grading model that Chimacum Elementary uses in the middle school is logical and in the best interest of students and in compliance with our district policy.
Mr. González
al_gonzalez@csd49.org
360-453-7021
Check out the Homework Section of my website to see what we are doing in Science everyday. I am available by email, text or phone.
