Orland School District 135

Orland School District 135 is beginning a new initiative leading the way to updated report cards and consistency for student grading and classroom practices impacting grading. Our parents’ voices will be a critical part of this process. In order to include families throughout every step of this process, District 135 is forming a committee that will include parents, administrators, and teachers. The key components to this committee include the following:

The Committee:

5-7 meetings between 2016/17 and 2017/18.
Each committee meeting will have an agenda aligned to purposes of grading, practices for assessment and grading, and discussing plans for reporting grades.
Discussions may be guided by ISBE guidelines, research-based practices, trends in education, local norms, policies, and guests.
Meetings: Sept 22, Oct. 20, Dec. 1, Jan. 26, Feb. 16, March 23, April 20
Topics: Will include but may not be limited to purposes of grading, homework, late work, Fs, 0s, formative assessment, learning targets, reporting to parents and report cards
Each meeting will be limited to 2 hrs.
38 parents, 11 teachers, District and building administrators representing primary, intermediate and jr. high, and Dr. Skogsberg

Please contact Dave Snyder, Director of Curriculum, with any questions.

dsnyder@orland135.org or 708-364-3319

What is Standards-Based Grading?

Standards-Based Grading (SBG) is a set of teaching and reporting practices that communicate how a student is performing against a predetermined set of expectations. SBG reports achievement on each standard separately instead of combining them like in traditional systems.

SBG also separates out behaviors such as effort, attendance, participation, timeliness, cooperation, and attitude, in an attempt to give the clearest picture of student learning possible.

Grading and Reporting - Shared Belief System

Orland School District 135 has a belief system about the purpose of grades, students, and learning that compels us to move beyond the traditional, single letter grade system. A shared set of beliefs about the purposes of grades guide this work:

Why do we use report cards and assign grades to student work?

Communicate information about strengths/weaknesses so students/teachers/parents understand student progress.
To assess the mastery of skills and standards within a subject matter.
To provide feedback and to show growth, mastery, or lack thereof.
To identify skills mastered and skills that continue to need work
To monitor student progress
Feedback on student achievement

For Whom is the information intended?

Students
Teachers
Parents
Administrators
High Schools

What are the desired results from report cards and assigning grades to student work?

To know areas of need and guide instruction, student learning
To access student's mastery of skills
Informs teachers for planning and instruction. More accurate picture of student learning/understanding.
To keep parents informed as to what is happening in the classroom and to provide feedback to students
An accurate and consistent evaluation of student learning

Does our current report card effectively and accurately report academic and nonacademic variables?

Not an accurate picture of the student
Academic, somewhat; Non-academic, not really (very mixed)
No

What information should be communicated on report cards?

Visible learning
Academics - more specific about growth and strengths
Whether or not the standards are being met
What can parents do to support growth
Academic information, non-academic observations (behaviors, social and emotional status, participation, etc.)