Grading

As we reach the middle of first trimester, you may have noticed graded papers coming home. You will see that your child earns a 1, 2, 3, or 4 on those papers. On the report card you will see these numerical grades as well. Those numbers show where your child is performing when measured against the standard. They do not match up to A, B, C, D grades. The target or benchmark is a 3, this means that your child has met the standard in that area at this point in time. A 2 means that your child is progressing toward the standard, but has not met it yet. He/she may have done well in some areas but not in all needed for the standard being measured. It is not unusual, to see some 2's on a report card because many of the standards measure what a child should be able to do at the end of the grade level and of course we don't expect them to be able to do end of grade level work in the beginning of the year. If you see 2's on the report card it is a standard we will continue to work on either in our whole class lessons or in small guided groups so that next trimester you will hopefully see that grade improve to a 3. A 1 means that your child is working well below the standard in that area and is not making the expected progress. A 4 means that your child has exceeded the standard.  We have been and will continue to be sending home papers in the next few weeks that have been graded for you to review. Just please keep in mind that a 2 is not necessarily cause for alarm, because we grade based on what is expected at the end of the year. If you have any questions as you view work or when the time comes report cards please don't hesitate to ask.