MCPS new report cards

[Anonymous]

We just got our child's report card and I'm a little surprised at how different it is from last year's. Last year he had mostly "P"s with just a few "I"s and was evaluated on 30+ categories. This time, his report card shows 10 "P"s and 7 "I"s and that is it. I don't think he's declined as a student (he's young elementary) but I'm a little thrown by it. Is this what to expect from the new report card format?

[Anonymous]

My daughter had either all Ps last year or maybe one I -- can't remember (Kindergarten -- there weren't ESs last year). This quarter she ended with a few Is this time and none of the ESs. It def. looked like a decline but she's doing better so I don't know.

[Anonymous]

I think the county is trying to better educate the teachers about how the grades were intended to be used. ES, P and I are not exact substitutes for the old system O, S and N, but I think last year (and perhaps this year at some schools), teachers are using the new letters as substitutes for the old standards. Our principal made it very clear that very few ES grades will be given, and P is the goal.

[Anonymous]

It is a report card designed to ensure that no one can tell how well a student is doing by reading it. That's the only explanation. Ridiculous report card that doesn't say anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the county is trying to better educate the teachers about how the grades were intended to be used. ES, P and I are not exact substitutes for the old system O, S and N, but I think last year (and perhaps this year at some schools), teachers are using the new letters as substitutes for the old standards. Our principal made it very clear that very few ES grades will be given, and P is the goal.

This really bothers me. What kind of a message does it send to the kids? Aim for mediocrity? No one will achieve "ES" so why bother putting forth your best effort...Grrr

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the county is trying to better educate the teachers about how the grades were intended to be used. ES, P and I are not exact substitutes for the old system O, S and N, but I think last year (and perhaps this year at some schools), teachers are using the new letters as substitutes for the old standards. Our principal made it very clear that very few ES grades will be given, and P is the goal.

This really bothers me. What kind of a message does it send to the kids? Aim for mediocrity? No one will achieve "ES" so why bother putting forth your best effort...Grrr

But P isn't meant to designate mediocrity, it is meant to designate mastery. ES is a superfluous grade that they probably should not have included.

[Anonymous]

Hold on, report cards aren't distributed until Wednesday county-wide, I thought. Our teacher gave us a little print-out at our recent teacher conference of about 17 things, like you said, but it was not the complete and official report card that will be coming home on Wednesday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hold on, report cards aren't distributed until Wednesday county-wide, I thought. Our teacher gave us a little print-out at our recent teacher conference of about 17 things, like you said, but it was not the complete and official report card that will be coming home on Wednesday.

We got the report card handed to us and the conference. It is a single page with about 30 possible measurement topics, but I think only 19 are graded this marking period. There are separate "grades" for learning skills, and a box showing reading level.

[Anonymous]

Rest assured, many (most? all?) teachers dislike it as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just got our child's report card and I'm a little surprised at how different it is from last year's. Last year he had mostly "P"s with just a few "I"s and was evaluated on 30+ categories. This time, his report card shows 10 "P"s and 7 "I"s and that is it. I don't think he's declined as a student (he's young elementary) but I'm a little thrown by it. Is this what to expect from the new report card format?

Its because the new report card addresses many different areas separately instead of an overall "grade". Under the previous system, you may get an A and think there is nothing to work on (unless the teacher specifically tells you) under the new system you may do excellent work but there are areas identified for an improvement and they are clearly presented.

The purpose of the report card is not to make you or the child feel better (and conversely not to make you feel horrible) it is to plainly state strengths, weaknesses and areas to improve on.

[Anonymous]

Teacher was very candid with us that she & the other 3rd grade teachers have been given absolutely no criteria for assigning an "ES" grade. They've been instructed what "ES" is not (apparently it does not mean above grade level) but that's it.

For the record, my DD received all "Ps" and the teacher said that this was "doing quite well."

[Anonymous]

OK, phew. My daughter got all P's and I was concerned. I guess gone are the days when a kid strive for straight A's. I have a feeling most teachers like this better as they don't have to write any comments. It must be hard to come up with constructive comments for 20+ kids.

[Anonymous]

My son is in 2nd grade got mostly ps with a few Is and we were told not to worry about the Is because the I was also a "good grade" and there was "not much difference between a P and an I. When pressed it was clear the teacher and no idea what she was talking about. I don't think the teachers have had any training on this report card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hold on, report cards aren't distributed until Wednesday county-wide, I thought. Our teacher gave us a little print-out at our recent teacher conference of about 17 things, like you said, but it was not the complete and official report card that will be coming home on Wednesday.

We got the report card handed to us and the conference. It is a single page with about 30 possible measurement topics, but I think only 19 are graded this marking period. There are separate "grades" for learning skills, and a box showing reading level.

Confused. We were given a progress report, which is the same thing you described. That is not a report card.

[Anonymous]

My 3rd grader received mostly P's and a few ES's. I don't really understand why she received these designations (I suppose they aren't grades) I don't understand what it means to be proficient. Therefore, I don't understand what it means to get ES (I can't remember what that stands for) I suppose proficient covers a very wide range of mastery since the ES's are supposed to be incredibly difficult to attain.