Honestly how is all this bragging a data point for the op. c'mon??? I can't stop laughing At pp

For another data point, our oldest is in K at an Alexandria ES and received all 5s for the Language Arts sections (reading, writing, oral). She was only given the DRA Word Analysis. I asked about the DRA2 and was told they would administer it if I really wanted to, but they are meeting her needs in Language Arts by offering her more advanced books to read and more advanced activity centers so we declined.

She did receive 3's in math, science, and social studies and we were told by her teacher that this is because they are only assessing them on what they have covered in class. As for math, I know that she is above grade level because she can do addition of double and triple digits, multiplication (mostly in her head), and as of lately she's been understanding fractions and reduction of fractions to the lowest common denominator. So, I’m fairly certain she’s meeting/above K benchmarks in math, but my understanding is that the teacher can’t grade anything that she hasn’t already assessed so math will stay at level until the end of the year

maybe you are at one of the test schools for the new progress report? if there is an NA or NT option they are adding that would be an improvement. then parents don't have to guess if the child is really a 3 or if they just didn't assess the 4 criteria.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9:31. They're not for the teacher. They are for the student. If the teachers are manipulating the grades for their own gain like you suggest that would be highly unethical. I think people are simply asking for an honest assessment. If it's a 3 and you're happy with that, Yeah you.... If it's a 3 and you'd like to get them to a 4, well pls let us know what they need to do to get there.

9:42. If they haven’t covered it in class it should be a NA or NT.

I have had 3 kids go through FCPS K, and all 3 had different K teachers. Two of them told me that they couldn't give a higher mark than what they had already had the opportunity to evaluate in class regardless of the child's abilities, and that a child could not recieve a 5 in reading unless they were given the DRA2 (not just the DRA word analysis)...even if they entered K reading chapter books fluently. The third K teacher, I didn't bother asking because I already knew the drill. I have never seen or heard of an NT or NA.

There are 2 different cards. Looking at ours now and there is an NA and NT. The paper that came with it says it is being phased in on some schedule and all schools will be using it in the fall. I just wish they would make an honest assesment and let the chips fall where they may...

Anonymous wrote:9:31. They're not for the teacher. They are for the student. If the teachers are manipulating the grades for their own gain like you suggest that would be highly unethical. I think people are simply asking for an honest assessment. If it's a 3 and you're happy with that, Yeah you.... If it's a 3 and you'd like to get them to a 4, well pls let us know what they need to do to get there.

9:42. If they haven’t covered it in class it should be a NA or NT.

I have had 3 kids go through FCPS K, and all 3 had different K teachers. Two of them told me that they couldn't give a higher mark than what they had already had the opportunity to evaluate in class regardless of the child's abilities, and that a child could not recieve a 5 in reading unless they were given the DRA2 (not just the DRA word analysis)...even if they entered K reading chapter books fluently. The third K teacher, I didn't bother asking because I already knew the drill. I have never seen or heard of an NT or NA.

Anonymous wrote:9:31. They're not for the teacher. They are for the student. If the teachers are manipulating the grades for their own gain like you suggest that would be highly unethical. I think people are simply asking for an honest assessment. If it's a 3 and you're happy with that, Yeah you.... If it's a 3 and you'd like to get them to a 4, well pls let us know what they need to do to get there.

9:42. If they haven’t covered it in class it should be a NA or NT.

NA or NT isn't an option on the cards. We were told that if a subject isn't covered yet in class, the teachers as a rule gave a 3 to everybody.

9:31. They're not for the teacher. They are for the student. If the teachers are manipulating the grades for their own gain like you suggest that would be highly unethical. I think people are simply asking for an honest assessment. If it's a 3 and you're happy with that, Yeah you.... If it's a 3 and you'd like to get them to a 4, well pls let us know what they need to do to get there.

9:42. If they haven’t covered it in class it should be a NA or NT.

It's not a "problem." If your child can do something, that's great. The number on the report card will not affect the education your child gets if the difference is b/t a 3 or a 4.

I was surprised to see that my child's math was "only" a three when I know he's more of a "4" but who cares! Like the prior posters said, the teacher may not have had an opportunity to evaluate a certain skill yet or maybe my kid didn't really show his true abilities when he got distracted with the task at hand and goofed off. Whatever. I know he's doing GREAT and that's all that matters.

Many times they cannot give a student a 4 unless they have covered that skill in the classroom. You may know that your student has mastered a particular skill, but unless the teacher has taught and/or observed it, she cannot assess mastery.

Er, mastering. Damn S key is stuck.

Relax, OP. Your little snowflake is just fine. These grades are for the TEACHER, not your snowflake. If the teacher acknowledged your snowflake was matering the material in the second quarter, there would be way to demonstrate the teacher's progress in imparting the material.

You'll either see 5s by Quarter 4 or your have a skewed perspective on your child's skills. My guess is the latter is more likely.

We had the same problem in K. My ds entered K already meeting the benchmarks for all 5s. His teacher was well aware of this and explained that the numbers would go up through the year as they covered the material on the benchmarks. They can't give a 5 when they haven't done activities in the class yet that address those benchmarks because the teacher has not yet had the chance to see the kids skills in those areas. I know it's frustrating, but it really doesn't matter in the end.

Why don't you ask for a conference with the teacher. I had 3 of them in K last year b/c I wanted to understand the grading and how the social skills were developing. Also if the teacher hasn't evaluated a skill they won't be able to give the 4 or 5 in that skill. Sometimes that happened last year in math. They hadn't asked the kids to add two numbers and so they couldn't give a 3 to anyone.. etc.

Our teacher graded a little to the low side as well. It wouldn't hurt to contact the teacher though to see what is needed to get to level 4. Sometimes it is just one skill they are still working toward at that benchmark.

We recently got our kindergartener's DD's report card at an FCPS school. We are in a high-performing ES. She got all 3s even though she meets the written benchmarks for 4s. We are new to this system and are trying to figure out what to make of the report card. We were surprised by the scoring because there is a disconnect between the number and the skills she has. Trying to restrain ourselves from contacting the teacher right away. Can someone give me a sense of what is typical with report cards at this stage?