Discussed for more than a year now, the time has finally arrived where students will now be bringing home a harmonized school division-wide report card.
Rolling out with the autumn report cards, the new system of reporting focuses on a system of four written levels of accomplishment, as opposed to a letter or number grade as had been used previously.
"We are very happy to have a chance to introduce this new system of reporting to parents across the division," said Susan Nedelcov-Anderson, the curriculum coordinator for the division. "This is an exciting time for us in the division and we are very proud."
The new system of reporting works in conjunction with a Saskatchewan Ministry of Education initiative that applies specifically stated 'outcomes' for certain classes.
"The ministry is still generating outcome information, so what gets reported in the new system may change as time passes," Nedelcov-Anderson said. "For the time being however, we'll move ahead with those classes that have outcomes described for them."
At present, the grades and classes that will be using the new outcome-based reporting system are as follows:
Grades six to nine will have outcome-based reporting for all classes for which outcomes presently exist.
Grades one to five will have the new reporting methods for mathematics, and it is possible that English language arts will have outcomes defined before the end of the school year.
Grade 10 math will have the new reporting method as well, though these reports will include a number grade, as is stipulated by the province.
"For classes that have yet to have outcomes described, they will continue to be graded and reported to the parents in the system the individual schools were using previously," Nedelcov-Anderson said. "As more outcomes are defined, the report cards will expand to reflect that."
The issue of reporting became one of some concern following the amalgamation of the former school districts that make up the Cornerstone School Division.
"When the division was formed, we found that there was no harmony in the way students were having their grades reported," said Nedelcov-Anderson. "It became a problem when students moved from one area to another, or if teachers moved schools."
"The different districts each had their reporting systems, and in some cases, each school developed their own reporting standards," Nedelcov-Anderson explained. "It was a bit of a hindrance for administration, teachers, everyone, because whenever a student or teacher was at a new school, there was a problem with some way of finding an equivalency."
The new reporting system provides a scale of four written 'grades' that will explain a student's accomplishments in school.
The first level, 'Meeting,' means that the student can understand and do the work for the class indicated on their own.
'Approaching' means a student can understand, and do, most of the work, but needs help on occasion.
'Beginning' means the student can partially understand and do the work of the subject and grade level.
'Experiencing Difficulty' means that the student is having problems with understanding and applying the principals being taught, relative to the desired outcomes of the subject.
A fifth written mark, 'Insufficient Evidence' is used when a student has not done enough of their work for an evaluation to be made, regardless of the circumstance.
In the lead-up to the introduction of the new reporting system, one common concern heard during School Community Council meetings in Carlyle regarding the system was how this reporting will affect the students who are in fact excelling in their subjects or classes.
"When you have a student who is achieving beyond just the described outcomes, no, the report card will not make any indications of that," Nedelcov-Anderson said. "This is where the parent-teacher interviews come into play."
"Concerns about how a child is achieving in their classes, as well as children who are surpassing expectations, can be shared during the parent and teacher interview process," Nedelcov-Anderson said. "The communication between teacher and parent is still an important part of the reporting system."
The affected grades and classes will see their first reports coming for the autumn mid-term reports.
The division has committees underway developing the new report cards for Kindergarten as well as high school, and it is anticipated that these grades will begin outcome-based reporting in the 2011-2012 school year.
