No surprises!

Most adults of today experienced report card grades as the averages of all the work we produced for a particular course during a grading period.  Along with traditional tests, learning experiences and learner behaviors were all swirled together in a magical grading blender - and out popped an achievement grade that often felt more like something that happened to us rather than something we were empowered to affect.  Not so today. The evaluation of performance that you will receive next week is a far more specific snapshot of your child's actual skills and knowledge relative to clearly-defined grade level outcomes.  Experiences designed to facilitate learning - like classwork, homework, and formative assessments - are very intentionally not included in the grades.  Neither are learner behaviors such as attention, assignment completion, or participation, which are reflected separately.

Today, both teacher and student know what mastery looks like.  And every outcome - or standard - is both taught and assessed.  Where am I going?  Where am I now? and How do I close the gap? are questions students answer in the formative assessment practices designed to facilitate learning.  To support this focus, students have increasing opportunities to receive and reflect on feedback that directs their efforts toward mastery.

The report card arranges course standards into clusters or topic strands.  Proficiency on the individual standards behind those topics is reflected with a rubric score of 1, 2, 3, or 4.  It's important to understand that a score of 3 represents grade-level mastery.  This has been a big shift from a culture in which A somehow became the target, leaving no room for teachers to fairly document understanding and application that exceeded grade-level expectations.  So these rubric scores, devoid of homework, class participation, and other learner behaviors, tell you precisely what your child knows and is able to do relative to grade level expectations.

In the middle school, you will also see a "blender grade" for each course, simply because grading culture is deeply-embedded.  The traditional A-B-C-D-U summary remains an average of many unrelated pieces, but, even so, is different from the grading practices of the past in that it is more a more "pure" grade summarizing performance on the course standards at the completion of units of study without muddying the picture with other factors.

It is not insignificant that today's clearly-articulated standards enable us to give ownership of student progress to the student.  A grade is no longer something that "happens" to him or her based on a variety of sometimes arbitrary factors.  Standards-based grades highlight both strengths and areas in need of strategic focus.  Formative assessments and feedback suggest a way forward.  Empowering!

Be sure to take time next week to review your child(ren)'s report card(s) together with them, celebrating successes, reflecting on areas for growth, and developing strategic action steps for continued improvement.