Springfield School District - Standards Based Report Cards

Notes on Switching to a Standards-Based Report Card

• Irvine World News: New report card gets child coming and going
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Grades are no longer simply A-F
• ASCD Curriclulum Update: Assessing Assessment: Are Alternative Methods Making the Grade? 
• American School Board Jorunal: States Raise the Bar - A 1998 article about standards and whether they will last. Obviously, they have.
• Gates Foundation: High Performing School Districts 

Steps toward a report card change

1. Identify the Standards to be assessed.
2. Check for a consistent thread of Standards from one grade to the next.
3. Define the terminology used to show progress (A,B,C,D,F; G,S,I,N, E,M,B; +,-; 1,2,3,4; etc.)
4. Refine the terminology to ensure consistency across grade levels and minimize confusion amongst staff and parents.
5. Identify the local assessments to be used district-wide for determining whether a standard has been successfully achieved.
6. Prepare a portfolio-type document for the student's cumulative folder noting progress (or lack thereof) at each grade level.
7. Create documentation that explains the change so that parents understand the new terminology and the underlying philosophy behind the change.