ASD-Standards Based-Report Card

Alpine School District’s

Standards Based Report Cards

For grades prek through 6

The Utah State Office of Education defines standards that all students are expected to master in each subject area in each grade level. Utah’s K-6 Language Arts standards can be viewed at:

http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/core/corepdf/LAk-6.pdf

K-6 Math standards can be viewed at

http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/math/elem/core.htm

Standards based report cards (SBRC) allow parents to see their child’s progress toward achieving these grade level standards. In turn this helps parents and teachers identify the child’s strengths and needs. Then parents can know in which area to provide review and practice at home and teachers will be able to prepare targeted assistance in the classroom.

The standards are written to be the expected accomplishment of all students at the end of the school year. The report cards report on students’ progress toward mastery of those standards. If an item is blank, then there is no expectation of mastery for that standard at that time. Only standards that have grades listed are expected to have been mastered.

Although not all standards listed in the state core are itemized on Alpine’s SBRC, the main accomplishments are listed as a way to focus classroom instruction on the important accomplishments needed at each grade level.

Alpine School District is committed to teaching the state core curriculum and reporting the strengths and needs of students relative to those standards. The instruction of all state core standards is the basis of every classroom whether or not the teacher or school reports to parents using the standards based report cards.

View Alpine’s SBRC

Standards and Definitions for each grade level

Answers for Frequently Asked Questions about

Traditional and Standards Based Report Cards

Traditional Report Card

Standards Based Report Card

How are the report cards different?

Grades are given for each subject area, such as reading, composition and math.

Subject areas are sub-divided into a list of skills and knowledge that students need to learn or master. Each item on the list is scored.

How are grades determined?

Grades reflect an averaging of scores to determine a letter grade for a subject area.

Students’ scores are derived from combining practice assignments, teacher observations and tests.

Grades from one term may be separate from another team. You can’t change them if the child’s performance improves.

Grades reflect the level of proficiency on various standards for each subject area.

Students’ scores are derived from teacher observations and tests.

Grades focus on the end of the year goals for each grade level. As performance goes up the grades are changed to reflect the new level of mastery.

Summary grades are given for subject area summarizing the mastery level for the subject area.

How do the grades on this report card reflect Utah’s state core curriculum?

Grades reflect teacher’s expectations.

If the classroom teacher chooses assignments that match the state core curriculum the grades summarize the work completed by the student about the standard.

If the teacher does not choose assignments that match the state core then the grades do not summarize the student’s progress toward meeting state standards.

Grades reflect progress toward mastery of each state standard.

Teachers evaluate students relative to each standard on the state core curriculum and report mastery levels attained on those standards to parents.

Traditional Report Card

Standards Based Report Card

What is the advantage to each type of grading system?

•Most adults understand this type of grading system from their experiences as students.

•Grades can be raised by doing “extra credit”.

•Grades are based on the level of achievement the student attained at the end of the teaching cycle for each standard. Practice is not included in the grade.

•Parents can see which standards students have mastered and which ones they need more work on in larger content areas such as reading, composition or math.

•Creates more consistent curriculum between teachers on the same grade level.

•Homework completion is reported separately from mastery of concepts and skills.

•Work habits and effort are reported separately.

What are the disadvantages to that type of grading system?

•Students are being scored on assignments before they have had sufficient practice to expect mastery.

•The grade summarizing a content area such as reading or math doesn’t tell the parent which standards the child knows or doesn’t know

•Change takes time to build understanding in everyone involved.

What grades would I see on the report card?

Usually A,B,C,N for intermediate level students and

O,S,N for primary grade students

Usually A,B,C,N for intermediate level students and

For primary grade students

Y, yes mastered

P, partial mastery

N, not yet mastered

-, mastery not expected yet

Traditional Report Card

Standards Based Report Card