How do I interpret this LS report card

[Anonymous]

There is no letter grading, just 3 categories with the highest as meeting expectations and the others two levels of development. Is it fine to see quite some at lower level of development (in some the classes most items are but in some others very few)? I am a bit alarmed by the hash tone of the overall assessment too. My child is not the best behaved but is one of the best in academics. Just can be naughty and challenging when bored. The assessment basically focuses on the (negative) behavior and mentions nothing on the academic achievement, which is actually obtained through a lot of extra curriculum efforts. We are thinking about switching schools but are afraid this assessment could diminish our chances. Staying seems not a good choice as my child feels singled out and suppressed.

[Anonymous]

Sigh, I came to check out the private forum because we had a very similar experience this week in DCPS. Sorry to hear this attitude seems pervasive.

[Anonymous]

Not meant to be snarky, but how do you know your child's academic achievement is one of the best? I would think that if that were true, it would be reflected in the report card grade with the teacher comments adding context on behavior?

You mention extra curricular efforts...are you saying your child is achieving in a subject outside of class beyond what you think other children are in school? If so, that doesn't necessarily mean your child is achieving in class in school. Trying to think of an example...suppose a child can read a high level book at home and do so quickly. That doesn't necessarily mean that when they are in RLA class, that they can follow instructions on an assignment related to a book and produce a high level output. (think executive functioning issues - there are very bright kids that don't always succeed in class)

It does sound like you may need a different program to meet your child's needs. But be sure you are being honest with yourself on whether your child is actually achieving in class. You might want to have them assessed so that when you look for a new school, you are looking for the right features to be a good match for your child.

[Anonymous]

The school should be offering some context for the levels of development. At my DCs school, they note that they are assessing against year-end standards. So on the mid-year reports, we should expect to see a range of different levels based on what they have actually covered and how far along the kids are individually.

Separately, as to behavioral issues. Schools are used to some levels of “challenging”, but “naughty” is a real problem. I’d take a close look at what is going on there and see if you can help your child shift before you are not invited to return.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response and agree assessment needed. A few subject teachers confirmed my child's academic performance and there is the ERB (and WISC to a lesser extent). My child takes extra curriculum math to have more challenge and consistently scores top in school. Reading MS/HS level books and writing stories online. Not a genius but vocabulary and comprehension clearly exceeding peers. Writing a long way to mature into an author but articulate and logical. I can see the problem is being bored by the class work or home work so not motivated and irritated when pushed to repeat those. A lot of times being the only student who can get the bonus question right but makes careless mistakes on regular ones. Challenge teachers from time to time so I guess not much liked, although they know this is a smart kid.

[Anonymous]

As a long time educator, I have some thoughts.
First, your kid doesn't get to be a jerk because they are bored. Secondly, they get graded on what they do on class, not on what they could do if they didn't rush.

I suggest having a phone/zoom conference with the teacher and being proactive about strategies and asking what the teacher thinks may help.

Some ideas for strategies might be more challenging books/work from outside of school allowed when he is finished with his work and has checked it, making him a helper in the classroom, assisting him with an independent study project, pairing him with a similar ability peer to check over work before turning in, or a contract related to respecting the teacher and other students.

There are thousands of gifted kids sitting in public and private classrooms where they might be bored with the content and the majority of them are performing with excellence and not talking back.

This is a parenting issue (not that you caused it, more that you need to be involved to solve it) and teachers can help as your partners. It needs to be addressed now or else middle school is going to be a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

One more thing, it has nothing to do with "being liked" by the teacher. Many years I have liked this type of kids best and have been dedicated to help them develop the skills to be successful in all environments so they can become capable and successful adults.

However, how I felt about a child did not change their report card.

[Anonymous]

I can guess the school.
The report card was new to me too and I was quite surprised, since academics were completely missing. It is the new focus on whole child. Also, it was clear that some teachers will simply give lower scores for the beginning of the year no matter how well your kid is doing. Finally, there are very few places that a true outlier child will not be bored. A standard private school will not foster accelerated learning in LS, period. You need to be there for other reasons.

[Anonymous]

Maybe your child would have better behavior in school if he were playing outside of school rather than doing a bunch more academic work?

[Anonymous]

What school?

[Anonymous]

What grade is your child in? Regardless, I would ask for conferences with the teachers if you haven’t had them already. Maybe the comments come across more harshly than intended. And you should avoid comparing your child to other students, as you really don’t know how they are all performing (take with a grain of salt what your child relays).

It does sound overall like the school may not be a great fit so you could consider applying out. Again, seek district feedback from his teachers.

[Anonymous]

I’m sure your kid is bright, OP. But lots of other kids in the class are bright too, and they’re not behaving this way. And while you think your child is smarter than the other kids, the truth is you have no idea. The characteristics you described are not at all uncommon in local independent and public schools. If your child is picking up on your attitude about how special he is, it is t surprising that he is not behaving appropriately in school. If I were you, my focus would be on how to help my child with his attitude and behavior, not trying to find a different school that will accommodate his poor behavior.

The report card isn’t a place to tell you how amazing your child is; rather, it is an opportunity to identify areas for growth. For instance, my high school student with an A+ in a certain class had two areas of growth identified in his most recent report card comments for that class. I can see from the grade that he’s mastering the content, but it is great to know the teacher will help him continue to improve beyond the test scores.

[Anonymous]

You need to schedule a time to talk to the teacher. You need to talk about your child's behavior and how you can support him doing better. You need to talk about why he is not showing academic skills that you think he is capable of. You need to listen more than you talk and not be defensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe your child would have better behavior in school if he were playing outside of school rather than doing a bunch more academic work?

This. I’m not sure you’re really doing your kid any favors by pushing this much academic work at such an early age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no letter grading, just 3 categories with the highest as meeting expectations and the others two levels of development. Is it fine to see quite some at lower level of development (in some the classes most items are but in some others very few)? I am a bit alarmed by the hash tone of the overall assessment too. My child is not the best behaved but is one of the best in academics. Just can be naughty and challenging when bored. The assessment basically focuses on the (negative) behavior and mentions nothing on the academic achievement, which is actually obtained through a lot of extra curriculum efforts. We are thinking about switching schools but are afraid this assessment could diminish our chances. Staying seems not a good choice as my child feels singled out and suppressed.

If your child is academically strong, all academic areas on the report should be meeting expectations. Social/behavior lines would be otherwise.

I would not gloss over the behavior, either. Your child should not be acting out, end of story. The "he's bored" is so trite.