Reportcards Are In... Do I Pass Along The Info? - Page 2

[karne]

Here's a perspective from our recent experience. We're new to grading in general, so DH and I weren't quite sure what to expect. DC is in elem. school. Report cards (non-letter "grades") were given out in the context of a meeting w/the child , teacher and parents. The idea was that the child would have collected and presented a portfoilio of their best work, in their own opinion, and then present that work, as the teacher asked questions, and framed a context around the meaning or importance of that work. Then there was some discussion of what had occurred, and would be occuring from an academic perspective. The report card was handed to us, and we "noticed" together some of the topics. An invitation was extended to be in contact with any questions. DH and I had some questions we wished addressed w/out our child, so we called at a later point.

All this felt so respectful, and included our child as an active participant. Which is to say that this process is helping our dd understand who she is as a learner, and also highlighted what felt like some really nice achievments. It was also clear that she had a sense of areas she would like to work on-but this came from her, not us telling her. I wonder if anyone else's school does this? My dd loved it!

This is a pub. school, BTW.

[LynnS6]

Our schools don't give letter grades until middle school, I think. In elementary school, they get "I" (improving), "S" (satisfactory/meets standards) and "E" for "Exceeds standards/Excellent").

We do go through ds' report card with him -- I give him the reader's digest version, accentuating the positives. "It looks like you're doing really well in math and reading, and that you've gotten better in writing. It looks like we need to work a bit on double checking your work for mistakes. That's something we can practice at home too. Your teacher says your a joy to have in class, and it looks like you're working hard in school."

I think kids have a right to know what their teachers are saying about them, but they don't need to know the nitty-gritty details (so I won't share the "writes legibly" info with him because he's got a fine motor delay and it's always going to be an issue). They are also judging themselves all the time -- ds can tell you who's in the top reading group, who's the best at math (OK, so he is!), who's the best at music, etc.

[CarrieMF]

I don't know, I still don't see the issue with telling the kids what's on them. I could see extremely sensitive kids having an issue, but most kids aren't like that.

My youngest(in K) got her report card today, the other 2 get them tomorrow both of them can read so I know they'll read it before I see it anyhow.

My middle dd(Grade 1) is excited to see hers, she hopes she gets all 1's. She get all 1's & a 2 last time. In her class 1's are above grade level. 2's are at grade level & 3's are below grade level. 4's are on a modified education plan.

My oldest(grade 4) is looking forward to hers too, not as much as my middle dd. Theirs are numbers in 10% ranges starting at 1 is 90-100. They also have letters too for Effort. E, VS, S, I, NI. Her report card in the fall she got all 1's & 2's. It was the first time she's had no 3's or 4's & she was very proud of herself.

My youngest in K has a different format too. 1 is doing fine, 2 is need to work on it, 3 is having difficulty.

[karen ann]

I have always shared with my DS what his report card says. I look at report cards as along the same lines as my performance review at work: an opportunity to see where things are going really well, where things need a little work, and if necessary where things need drastic improvement. It's DS's effort and work getting recognized. I see no reason for him not to be a party to it.