Not only is it totally boilerplate...in my experience, a lot of those boilerplate responses early in the year seem to be deliberately wrong - crediting more advanced students with knowing far less than they actually do so the report cards can then show learning "progress" later in the year, thus meeting the all-important "growth" metric required of their teachers without having learned a damn thing.

(I have mentioned this experience before on this board and been assured that this couldn't possibly be the case...that even though the entire system is set up precisely to reward just such gaming of the report cards, this situation must be unique to my charter. Which uses the same report cards and teacher assessment metrics as everyone else in the system. Yeah, that must be it. The whole school system uses a simple dropdown menu for report cards/student assessment, with no ability to enter unique language around the learning attainment of individual students and a job-dependent annual requirement of movement from lower levels of this simple dropdown to higher levels...a dynamic that overtly disincentivizes honest reporting of any students who begin the year at the highest level....but it must just be one teacher in one school who's figured that out. This boilerplate language otherwise applies with pinpoint accuracy to every other student in DCPS.)

I don't even open my kid's report card anymore. It's useless.

Our school's elementary report cards used to be very informative. The teachers put a real effort into preparing an insightful narrative.

But then DCPS insisted that everyone use their useless form. It's what DCPS does in the Ferebee era: seek to control everything while achieving only lame quality.

You would hope that when someone was obsessed with control, they would at least be good at activity. But that is not the case with paranoid and pathetic DCPS Central.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI it is possible to give individualized comments. I have written individualized comments for all my students. However, most teachers are not given enough time to be as thoughtful in our comments as we would like.

But only in the box at the very end and only for ES students. The K parent absolutely does not realize that the “detailed” personalized comments she’s getting are just selected from a checklist of options. She thinks it’s because she sucks up to the teacher. Sad really.

I am only talking elementary, but I think you may be confusing the SEL grades (which we have pick strengths/focuses per student) and the comments which we can write at the end of the math and ELA grades. DCPS changed the report card a few years ago and we are bound to a 300 character minimum which is about 2-3 sentences.
Personally, I'd be happy to write more thorough report cards 3x a year (which would align with our beg/mid and end of year windows). Also, rather than have 1/2 day PD and 1/2 day records , they could give us a full day for grades. However, when we are given just 2 hours to do all of our grades, quality is often skimped upon depending on the individual and how many students they have, unfortunately.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t possible on the middle school version. I can either say your child is amazing or terrible with ~15 options. I would greatly prefer some in between. Your child is occasionally unprepared, tardy, etc…

MS teacher and HS parent just coming to say the same. I would love for the progress report in particular to be more personalized, when the time is still there to be actionable on the same term. However, I will say, teachers can put comments on ASPEN. Not sure how much parents read it though.

Unfortunately, at my dcps high school and perhaps many others- we have 200 and up students per teacher and so much other baloney to handle to actually keep up with your children as well as they deserve. And now they are cutting the budget again and we will have even more in the class.

You can look at the numbers and know every DCPS HS is definitely NOT like that. And unfortunately, there is truly no telling what is ahead.

Anonymous wrote:FYI it is possible to give individualized comments. I have written individualized comments for all my students. However, most teachers are not given enough time to be as thoughtful in our comments as we would like.

But only in the box at the very end and only for ES students. The K parent absolutely does not realize that the “detailed” personalized comments she’s getting are just selected from a checklist of options. She thinks it’s because she sucks up to the teacher. Sad really.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t possible on the middle school version. I can either say your child is amazing or terrible with ~15 options. I would greatly prefer some in between. Your child is occasionally unprepared, tardy, etc…

MS teacher and HS parent just coming to say the same. I would love for the progress report in particular to be more personalized, when the time is still there to be actionable on the same term. However, I will say, teachers can put comments on ASPEN. Not sure how much parents read it though.

Unfortunately, at my dcps high school and perhaps many others- we have 200 and up students per teacher and so much other baloney to handle to actually keep up with your children as well as they deserve. And now they are cutting the budget again and we will have even more in the class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a title 1 school and our K report card has great detail. The teacher went above and beyond I guess.

Is it a DCPS? Because, if so, it’s exactly the same report card and you just don’t realize yet that the comments are cookie cutter. You’re thinking wow, the teacher know my kid so well. No, there are like 4 comment options for that whole class. You literally click a button.

It’s DCPS. she types his name in comments as needed.

And the comments at the end are personalized.

We also talk to the teachers so maybe that helps. We ask where we can help, etc (not saying other parents don’t, we ask for insight is all we mean).

Are you wealthy and white? I work at JR High and wealthy white parents get a lot of attention- even though we have almost all black admin. And teachers get bullied if wealthy/white parent complains. And those students get whatever they want. Although they are almost all very lovely- but you might not realize the attention you get isn't across the board.

You thought a public elementary school's report card would be useful???

Bwahahaha!!!

Aah, you have a lot to learn. Wipes tears off eyes.

First lesson: you know your kid best.

Second lesson: by the time a school gives you enough granular information to indicate there's a problem... you'd better have already done something about it, otherwise it will be too late.


- parent of a high schooler and college kid.

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t possible on the middle school version. I can either say your child is amazing or terrible with ~15 options. I would greatly prefer some in between. Your child is occasionally unprepared, tardy, etc…

MS teacher and HS parent just coming to say the same. I would love for the progress report in particular to be more personalized, when the time is still there to be actionable on the same term. However, I will say, teachers can put comments on ASPEN. Not sure how much parents read it though.

Teacher here. Elementary has a small place to give completely personalized comments at the end. Middle school and HS does not.

It isn’t possible on the middle school version. I can either say your child is amazing or terrible with ~15 options. I would greatly prefer some in between. Your child is occasionally unprepared, tardy, etc…

FYI it is possible to give individualized comments. I have written individualized comments for all my students. However, most teachers are not given enough time to be as thoughtful in our comments as we would like.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a title 1 school and our K report card has great detail. The teacher went above and beyond I guess.

Is it a DCPS? Because, if so, it’s exactly the same report card and you just don’t realize yet that the comments are cookie cutter. You’re thinking wow, the teacher know my kid so well. No, there are like 4 comment options for that whole class. You literally click a button.

It’s DCPS. she types his name in comments as needed.

And the comments at the end are personalized.

We also talk to the teachers so maybe that helps. We ask where we can help, etc (not saying other parents don’t, we ask for insight is all we mean).

So in other words you got the same faux personalized comments as everyone else.