The new lower grade report cards -- what does it take to get an ES instead of a P?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I rarely give "I" for independent the first quarter unless it is completely earned. There would be nothing to work for if they are independent in every skill.

Unfortunately, I think too many teachers do this. As a parent, I think you should be consistent throughout the year. Either they deserve and "I" or not. If the kid has "nothing to work for" then maybe you need to give the kid harder work or accelerate the child to the next grade level.

Also, for ES kids, I think the grades should be for the parents, not the kids. My kids don't care whether the card has an "I " or an "L", so the grades don't motivate them. What matters is that I take the report card and craft a response, either for the teacher/school to provide more challenge or for the child to work on certain competencies. The report card is also making a record of a child's progress across many years, so accurate readings are important for future educators. In short, I think the report card should communicate the child's educational status and not be used as a motivational tool.

I'm a teacher and a parent. I would prefer to see middle of the road grades early on. (Our system uses P - progressing and M - mastery.) Too often parents think their children are often advanced, which isn't necessarily the case. There is always something to learn, to perfect.

Furthermore, if a child is placed in advanced math, for example, perhaps s/he still deserves a mediocre grade. Being pushed to the next level doesn't automatically translate into mastery.

Sadly, when I read about parents complaining about grades, I recognize that these grades are MORE for the parent than for the student. You had your chance in the spotlight. Now back away and let litttle Lulu do her best.

I guess we disagree on many levels. I do think that the grades in first grade are for the parent. As the kids get older, I want them to gradually take ownership of their own education, but not in early education when parents need to be on the lookout for problem areas where the child cannot self-correct and could quickly fall behind. In fact, I go so far as to not show my younger kids their report card (and some teachers have agreed with this approach). To me, the card is a communication tool between the teacher and the parents in these early grades. I also don't lobby or argue against teachers to change their grade. I assume they made their choice honestly and objectively without any kind of bias (hence my comment above). The grade does open up a conversation, though. Like the OP, one of my kids has an advanced score in a standardized test (well above grade-level), yet the teacher listed DC as an 'S' and needing more work. I am not saying the teacher is wrong, but I do need to understand how to interpret a high test score and an average class evaluation. As for whether I overestimate the abilities of my gifted kid, I am aware that many teachers think this. That is why I strictly discuss progress in terms of standardized test scores and the lack of errors in any take home work that I see for this one child. I ask for more challenging work until I start seeing wrong answers. Seems fair to me.

I also disagree that parents should just leave the schools alone to educate their kids. Study after study shows the positive impact of parent involvement. Perhaps some parents go overboard, but to use those extreme cases of parenting to argue your point does not convince me.

So when do you cut the cord, PP? Since K, my daughter has fully understood the concept of a report card. Do I lie to her when I open the envelope? Do I tell her a fib as to why she's off on conference day? That seems over the top.

Ownership does not begin in the upper elementary grades. By hiding their progress, you block metacognition, which should be reinforced at home. Furthermore, I'm not hands off. However, I do trust the teachers and respect their individualized teaching methods. So while I'm no micro-manager, I do focus on concepts at home.

Over the years, I've seen a dumbing down, to be blunt, and much of that change stems from parents' need to micromanage the system. So I still say to leave Little Lulu alone; let her find her way, as you won't be in Lulu's life forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I rarely give "I" for independent the first quarter unless it is completely earned. There would be nothing to work for if they are independent in every skill.

Unfortunately, I think too many teachers do this. As a parent, I think you should be consistent throughout the year. Either they deserve and "I" or not. If the kid has "nothing to work for" then maybe you need to give the kid harder work or accelerate the child to the next grade level.

Also, for ES kids, I think the grades should be for the parents, not the kids. My kids don't care whether the card has an "I " or an "L", so the grades don't motivate them. What matters is that I take the report card and craft a response, either for the teacher/school to provide more challenge or for the child to work on certain competencies. The report card is also making a record of a child's progress across many years, so accurate readings are important for future educators. In short, I think the report card should communicate the child's educational status and not be used as a motivational tool.

I'm a teacher and a parent. I would prefer to see middle of the road grades early on. (Our system uses P - progressing and M - mastery.) Too often parents think their children are often advanced, which isn't necessarily the case. There is always something to learn, to perfect.

Furthermore, if a child is placed in advanced math, for example, perhaps s/he still deserves a mediocre grade. Being pushed to the next level doesn't automatically translate into mastery.

Sadly, when I read about parents complaining about grades, I recognize that these grades are MORE for the parent than for the student. You had your chance in the spotlight. Now back away and let litttle Lulu do her best.

I guess we disagree on many levels. I do think that the grades in first grade are for the parent. As the kids get older, I want them to gradually take ownership of their own education, but not in early education when parents need to be on the lookout for problem areas where the child cannot self-correct and could quickly fall behind. In fact, I go so far as to not show my younger kids their report card (and some teachers have agreed with this approach). To me, the card is a communication tool between the teacher and the parents in these early grades. I also don't lobby or argue against teachers to change their grade. I assume they made their choice honestly and objectively without any kind of bias (hence my comment above). The grade does open up a conversation, though. Like the OP, one of my kids has an advanced score in a standardized test (well above grade-level), yet the teacher listed DC as an 'S' and needing more work. I am not saying the teacher is wrong, but I do need to understand how to interpret a high test score and an average class evaluation. As for whether I overestimate the abilities of my gifted kid, I am aware that many teachers think this. That is why I strictly discuss progress in terms of standardized test scores and the lack of errors in any take home work that I see for this one child. I ask for more challenging work until I start seeing wrong answers. Seems fair to me.

I also disagree that parents should just leave the schools alone to educate their kids. Study after study shows the positive impact of parent involvement. Perhaps some parents go overboard, but to use those extreme cases of parenting to argue your point does not convince me.

So when do you cut the cord, PP? Since K, my daughter has fully understood the concept of a report card. Do I lie to her when I open the envelope? Do I tell her a fib as to why she's off on conference day? That seems over the top.

Ownership does not begin in the upper elementary grades. By hiding their progress, you block metacognition, which should be reinforced at home. Furthermore, I'm not hands off. However, I do trust the teachers and respect their individualized teaching methods. So while I'm no micro-manager, I do focus on concepts at home.

Over the years, I've seen a dumbing down, to be blunt, and much of that change stems from parents' need to micromanage the system. So I still say to leave Little Lulu alone; let her find her way, as you won't be in Lulu's life forever.

So where do you read that I lie to my child about their progress? You keep taking my statements and imagining some scenario that is not written. I chose to communicate to my child in a way that I think is best. I take the report card and other information, interpret the information, then act on it appropriately. You will notice that I also write above that I trust and respect the teacher's judgement. Finally, when you say you focus on concepts at home and that you are not hands off, that contradicts or at least backs off your previous statement to leave LuLu alone (earlier you say "So I still say to leave Little Lulu alone; let her find her way, as you won't be in Lulu's life forever. ") So at least we are starting to reach some kind of agreement in some areas. For the record, I am not opposed to you showing your child the report card either. As you well know, children and parents come in a variety of styles, which works out fine most of the time.

Finally, I absolutely disagree that parent micromanagement dumbs down the curriculum. How does this work? If anything, I have asked for more challenging work. The dumbing down of the curriculum comes from policy makers that are focused on impossible goals like NCLB or equal results across race, ethnicity, and SES. As long as those are the primary objectives of public education, rather then trying to teach every kid to be the best they can be, then the resources and curriculum focus will go to kids on the margin of the test scores and not kids on either end of test "score" scale. Bill Gates has pushed 2.0, not micromanaging parents. I would further say, that for some kids the curriculum is probably about right.

I think in the end, you have me pegged as some kind of PIA parent stereotype that teachers hate. I am pretty sure if you talked to my kid's teachers, you would find that I rarely engage them outside of normal interactions like PTA events and P-T conferences. All I asked for above was an honest assessment on the report card, not some 'let's be tough early in the year' fake assessment. Afterall, I don't talk to you guys much, so I need accurate information. Somehow from that, you turned me into some kind of lying, misguided parent. I hope you give more benefit to your student's parents.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We had a great conference with our teacher last week and she explained exactly what was meant (in her grading technique, at least) by P vs. ES. She grades according to the level at which the child is being taught. So, since our DC is reading at a third grade level and being presented material at that level, DC is therefore graded against that level (as opposed to against the general standards MC has for first grade reading). She also mentioned that a P means the child has mastered the material expected at that level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes, this is the new report card being rolled out for Curriculum 2.0. If anyone knows how to interpret, I'd appreciate it!

My kid is in a class that uses the new curriculum and he still gas the old report card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes, this is the new report card being rolled out for Curriculum 2.0. If anyone knows how to interpret, I'd appreciate it!

My kid is in a class that uses the new curriculum and he still gas the old report card.