Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District

Learning is a journey. Students learn and grow at different rates. The standards-based report card identifies where your child currently is on his or her educational path so that you, as parents, can work together with teachers to support your child in meeting annual learning goals. 

A standards-based reporting system is designed to inform parents/guardians about their children’s progress toward specific learning standards set forth by the Massachusetts Department of Education and adopted by the district. In a standards based system the score represents what is learned – where the student is in relation to the expectation or standard. 

 
A standards-based report card:

• provides a clear message to parents about which skills and concepts students know and are able to demonstrate in relation to established state standards
• helps teachers and students focus on identified end-of-year expectations from the very beginning of the year, giving students a direction for their learning
• aligns instruction, assessment, and grading with standards
• creates a higher level of consistency and continuity in assessing among teachers and across grade levels

Achievement Descriptors:

• 4 = Student has exceeded the end of year grade-level expectations consistently and independently.
• 3 = Student has reached or mastered grade-level expectations consistently and independently at this point in time.
• 2 = Student is working towards proficiency with steady progress toward the grade-level expectation.
• 1 = Student is working towards proficiency with limited progress toward the grade-level expectation.
• NA = Not assessed at this time
   

Because of the vast number of standards, not all standards may be assessed each trimester. If your child has an NA, it simply indicates that your child did not receive an assessment, or there was not enough data to accurately report progress on that standard for the grading period.  (See the performance descriptors above.)

No. Standards-based report cards are not about failing and passing. The 2’s show that a child is working towards proficiency. Even top students can earn a 2, which can be a shock for some families. It’s important to know that early scores are not averaged into the final grade—so once your child masters the concept, his/her final grade shows that.

A 3 shows that a student has reached or mastered grade-level expectations on a specific standard. A 3 indicates that a student is achieving at the appropriate level of expectations for that grade at the time of the reporting period. The standards-based report card measures how well an individual child is doing in relation to the grade-level standards, not the work of other children.

Level 4 may be the trickiest to understand. A 4 indicates performance that exceeds grade-level expectations taught for a specific standard and that the child has a much deeper understanding of the standard, the ability to apply that knowledge, make connections, and extend learning beyond the targeted goal.  If your child earned A’s on traditional report cards, they may have received them for meeting teacher requirements, not necessarily for exceeding grade-level expectations taught for that standard.

No. The performance descriptors are used to indicate a student’s progress in meeting academic learning standards.  The marks on a standards-based report card are different from traditional letter grades. Letter grades are often calculated by combining how well the student met the teacher’s expectations, how they performed on assignments and tests, and how much effort the teacher believes they put in. Letter grades do not tell parents which skills their children have mastered or whether they are working at grade level.

When students can clearly see the learning target for each activity and connect class activities to actions that are within their control, motivation improves. In other words, when students can see that the level and amount of work they contribute to the learning target is directly related to the outcome, they will be empowered and encouraged to work hard.

In addition to the updated content reporting, the new report card also provides families with a more detailed description of their social emotional learning. A child’s ability to regulate their emotions and behavior, make responsible decisions, and form positive relationships with their peers and adults are key factors in supporting their ability to learn. Providing students with a safe and structured learning environment with clear expectations and positive reinforcement contributes to their social emotional development. With this updated social and emotional competencies section of the report card, there will no longer be “EFFORT” grades.