Schools
Framingham Proposes New Report Card Format For 2014-15 School Year
Framingham Superintendent of Schools Stacy Scott on new elementary report cards: "Few things make the ground shake more in the district."
Framingham has revised and redesigned the elementary school report cards to align the grading of students with the new Common Core learning standards.
The redesigned and revised reports cards were presented to the Framingham School Committee Tuesday night.
Plans are to begin using them in the 2014-15 school year, said Lori DiGisi, a member of a report card committee and the district K-8 STEM coordinator.
Framingham last revised report cards in 2004. The move to update the reports cards was prompted by teacher concerns, said DiGisi, as the current cards do not reflect the Common Core standards, adopted by the Commonwealth.
Students are graded via two measurement systems:
- Approaches to Learning Indicators: which explains to parents the effort and skill a students puts into a subject.
- Academic Performance Indicators: which explains to parents how a child is doing in mastering a certain topic
- M: Student consistently and independently masters proficiency in the grade level standard
- P: Student is progressing towards the standard
- B: Student is beginning to progress towards understanding and mastering the standard
- N: Student not yet demonstrating progress.
Framingham Superintendent of Schools Stacy Scott said "few things make the ground shake more in the district" than a change in report cards.
The new report cards will impact teachers as it shifts focus and teaching onto the updated standards and assessments, said DiGisi. It also promotes consistency of language and expectation among educators and across schools, she added.
Framingham School Committee member Michelle Brosnihan said she appreciated the work that went into revising the report cards and that it can be used with special education students, who are struggling, as much as not special education students.
DiGisi said the report cards will provide more data to parents on how a student is progressing in a grade. She said the report card will focus on what a student has learned not what a student has earned.
DiGisi said standards-based report cards gives parents more information about each subject. It also emphasizes a student's growth.
DiGisi said the report card committee will meet with PTOs to go over the new report cards in the fall.
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