Elementary School Report Cards. I don't understand, I guess.

[mickeyboat]

Well, I don't know if that is or isn't true. The requirements for reading are 300 pages for 1st marking period. we have to keep track. My one daughter read 2700 pages!!!!! yes, 2700 pages. And my other read 1750 pages... and they are reading some of the very same books that I read as a teenager.

And, if they "can't" get a 4, how come in 2nd grade they both got MOSTLY 4's?

It is possible the second grade teachers gave above-grade level work and were able to give 4's.

And as far as reading goes, my kids are evaluated using a special assessment program (F&P). They are scored based on the grade level - B (below), O (on) or A (above). There is a gigantic range as to what is grade level reading. It doesn't matter how many pages they read if they are testing on grade level - based on their assessment level.

I think if this is something that really bothers you, you need to schedule a conference with the teachers. They can explain the grading scale to you.

 

[mjkacmom]

In fact I know very well. The teachers email us this stuff about every 2 weeks when they touch base. We are always told that they are big participators in class. Even moreso, one of the teachers sends home handwritten notes about once a month.

But you admit they've gotten grades as low at 90% - my kids get a little talking to about working harder if they get 90% (my 3 older - I have lower expectations, so far, about my twins - they are not as advanced as my older kids were at this age, and I base my expectations on ability, not the number).

 

[vgrandy]

my daughter is also in 3rd grade. In spelling she gets 4th grade words- every week. They are still easy for her. In spelling she should get a 4 as she is above grade level. As long as a kid is doing grade level work the highest they will usually get is a 3. Even if it's 100% at grade level. That is meeting grade expectations. That's the way it works. It is not really helpful for parents as kids getting 3s could be scoring anywhere between 80-100%.

Our schools don't start giving letter grades until grade 6.

 

[mtemm]

yep, my eldest is extremely bright, but on certain things he can only attain meets expectations, even though he is so far beyond it. just how the system works, so even if the 4 is there, it can't always be applied.

 

[tar heel]

They're not letter grades and not meant to be translated as such. As long as they "meet expectations" and you hear good reports from their teachers, everything is fine. Repeat this to yourself and to your daughters as often as needed. If a bright child does exactly what they are easily capable of doing, they are meeting expectations. If I bright child is lazy and makes 90s when he should me making 100s, he is not meeting expectations even though this may look like "B" work.

The problem here, really, is that there is even a 4 on the report. If it wasn't there, then there would not be a problem.

Not having letter grades on elementary report cards is nothing new. I'm 53 and grew up in a backward Southern state (we're progressive now but that wasn't the case 40+ years ago) and I did NOT have letter grades until fourth grade.

 

[HelenePA]

wow we get number grades from first on up here.. now in first grade they dont give the kids a reading grade for the first marking period but after that its ALL numbers..

 

[Becky2005]

And, if they "can't" get a 4, how come in 2nd grade they both got MOSTLY 4's?

I assume different teachers unless they looped and it's the same teacher from last year. What 1 teacher may consider "4" work, another one considers "3". In addition, there are the teachers as said before, if they give 4's the entire 1st semester there is nothing for your child to improve upon & they should be in 4th grade not 3rd (i.e. if they are exceeding expectations in every area, then they are working a full grade ahead in all areas).

I remember when we went to the no number at all system here -- just 3 boxes literally -- they put a check in one of the columns of "Exceeds" "Meets" or "Needs Improvement" -- not even the teachers could decipher what they were doing that first year. Every teacher has a different grading scale & that is true even with the A - F scale. My DD is in High School and they get the grading scale from every single teacher -- they are not all equal. I don't have it handy but I seem to recall one teacher put 96 - 100 as their A. It just struck me because I thought that was one tough grading scale.

My son's MS math teacher, the tests are over 50% of your grade, no matter if you got 100% on every assignment given, you do poorly on the test and your grade is going to be lower, other teachers don't weight their test grades quite as heavily.

 

[Papa Deuce]

They're not letter grades and not meant to be translated as such. As long as they "meet expectations" and you hear good reports from their teachers, everything is fine. Repeat this to yourself and to your daughters as often as needed. If a bright child does exactly what they are easily capable of doing, they are meeting expectations. If I bright child is lazy and makes 90s when he should me making 100s, he is not meeting expectations even though this may look like "B" work.

The problem here, really, is that there is even a 4 on the report. If it wasn't there, then there would not be a problem.

Not having letter grades on elementary report cards is nothing new. I'm 53 and grew up in a backward Southern state (we're progressive now but that wasn't the case 40+ years ago) and I did NOT have letter grades until fourth grade.

This is why I prefer letter grades. Letter grades would be more motivational to my kids, knowing that they are not lumped in with kids getting 75% or so. They get excited seeing 100% or 96% or 92% on a test grade. A "3" means nothing to them.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I don't need one... like I said, they will email me. They are very good about that.

Well clearly you do need a conference if you don't understand why your child is not getting better grades.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Well clearly you do need a conference if you don't understand why your child is not getting better grades.

No I don't. I sent the teachers a note, and they will email me. They ALWAYS do. I wrote that in this thread already....

 

[Aristocath]

We have a similar reporting method at our elementary school and a 4 means they have met the end of year standard. So you don't just get one "grade" for math...it is broken down into the objectives for the year which means about 12 math "grades" for my fourth grader. You only get 4 when you have mastered the end of year objective.

I personally love this as I know exactly what my kids need to work on. My middle school student has a traditional report card and bringing home a 96 in English tells me nothing about what he is learning and what he needs to work on.

 

[tmarquez]

My kid is only in 1st grade, but really I've already given up trying to figure out how schools are grading now.

Her school does something similar to the OP's and DD always gets the equivilent of 3's. Then in the comments section the teacher will write something about how she is working above grade level in whatever subjects. So I guess in her class, it is "meeting expectations" to be working above grade level.

DD is working on solving the healthcare issues in our country in the hopes of maybe getting a 4.

As a kid we always got an A, B, C, D or F. You knew exactly where we stood. And it was a great tool for the parents as well.

I think this new grading thing is just more "politically correct" nonsense.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Our school district is transitioning from letter grades to the "standards based" numbers system. They have letter grades in Math, Science & Social Studies, but English was broken down into 20 different categories, and graded on the new 1-4 system. DS (4th grade) got 2 A's and a B+ and all 3's in the "english" section. Last year, he had always gotten A's in English, and has had A's on all of his assignments. I asked his teacher about it at his conference, and she said that they almost never give out 4's. She said a 4 would mean that he was consistently doing 5th grade work, even though he is in 4th. While he is getting A's on his assignments, they are 4th grade assignments, therefore he "meets expectations" and gets a 3. I do have to say, I really hate this system. It will be really hard to tell how well he is doing once they phase out the letter grades on each assignment.

 

[joyjoy]

It's only 3rd grade - most kids get A's.

Thank you. I wish more people understood this. Getting mostly A's is actually quite "average" in 3rd grade. You really start seeing more separation in terms of ability in 6th grade and above.

I think the OP's kids' teacher is grading like my company's performance reviews. All 3s is GREAT. Nobody gets mostly 4s, that would mean you are completely overqualified for your job. I guess if your girls got all 4s they'd have them in the genius 3rd grade or something. As they say, nobody's perfect.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

No I don't. I sent the teachers a note, and they will email me. They ALWAYS do. I wrote that in this thread already....

Well I guess I see it differently. I would want more than an email if I really thought my kids were exceptional and their grades showed otherwise. I would want a conversation in real time so I could ask questions etc. If you are happy with an email then I guess there is nothing to be confused about.

 

[Crystal0608]

3's are good. On dd's (4th grade) last report card, she made all 99's except for one 96 and all 3's, no 4's. A teacher told me before that they only give 4's when they are one full grade level above the subject, and dd has only had about 5 of them since starting school.

 

[Papa Deuce]

OK, so you folks are correct. Here is the response we got from her teacher:

Hi Kathy and Chuck,

Abby had an awesome first marking period! She is thriving in third grade.
She is keeping up with the curriculum and pacing and doing well on all her
assessments. I copied the descriptions below of the performance levels. The
curricula are based on the standards, and Abby is meeting the standards all
at this time. Getting a "3" means she is consistently meeting the grade level
standards in third grade. In order to get a "4", the student needs to
demonstrate that he/she is well above the standards and consistently exceeds
them. Does that make sense? Abby is such a pleasure to teach and is doing a
great job thus far. Please continue to encourage her to keep it up! Thanks!
Lauren

Academic Performance Levels:

These comments refer to competencies in specific skill areas and are not
equated to letter grades:



4 - Exceeds Standard: The student produces work that consistently exceeds
grade level standards (Example: The student independently investigates
concepts or topics beyond the standard expectation and/or produces clear,
convincing evidence of expanded knowledge or skills.)

3 - Meets Standard: The student produces work that meets grade level
expectations. (Example: The student shows understanding and consistently
meets the expectations of assigned tasks. The student produces evidence that
demonstrates a thorough knowledge of concepts or topics.)




The part in bold is NOT written on the report cards. If it had been this would have been a lot simpler from the beginning.

 

[Ohiodislover]

Lauren





The part in bold is NOT written on the report cards. If it had been this would have been a lot simpler from the beginning.

Don't you hate that

When my daughter's interim came out it just gave the score... but not the specifics. She was freaking since she is an A/B student, and recieved a C in health???? In previous years the printout w/ the specific grades was sent home also. This made it much easier to talk w/ her about the grades, rather than being confused as to what the exact issues were. We requested a conference, and when she printed it out, we found out what to do to improve. DD went from a C to an A by the final grade.

When I asked the teacher why they didn't just print that out to begin w/, she said they were told not to.

Glad you got your questions answered.

 

[Ronda93]

I think the OP's kids' teacher is grading like my company's performance reviews. All 3s is GREAT. Nobody gets mostly 4s, that would mean you are completely overqualified for your job.

Yup, just getting them ready for corporate life.

Ronda, fully meets

 

[IDoDis]

This is why I prefer letter grades. Letter grades would be more motivational to my kids, knowing that they are not lumped in with kids getting 75% or so. They get excited seeing 100% or 96% or 92% on a test grade. A "3" means nothing to them.

When a child is scored correctly with the teacher following the standards and the rubric for what exceeds the grade level standards, the number score is actually more meaningful than a letter grade. Many kids who tried hard and had good effort but struggled in school were bring home A's and B's just like the kids who were performing much higher. We used to say that the child's grade was based on "individual effort and achievement."

Well, that is not the case anymore. A standard is a standard. If a child is doing well with the standards and getting between 80 - 100% on things, then he/she typically receives a "3" for "meets standards." However, if you have a child that really thinks out of the box, writes all over the margins on his math paper explaining what he did over and above or gives extra examples when the assignment said "give an example" and it's done correctly -- well, that is a "4." 4's are really for the top 3% of a school population and are not handed out like candy or like the arbitrary letter grading system. Your kids should be very proud to receive "3"s. Tell them it has nothing to do with a grade, but shows they are meeting the standards. If they want to achieve 4's encourage them to think out of the box and go above and beyond.