The
reporting of student progress is an integral component of District
13's standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment. From the
very first District Strategic Plan in 1992, we have focused on the
development of a reporting system that gives parents and students
detailed information about student progress toward our curriculum
benchmarks.
In grades K-4 our progress
reports are completely standards-based. This means that teachers at
each grade level have identified from the broader curriculum the
essential knowledge and skills that students must master in order to be
successful at the next grade level. Progress toward these benchmarks is
reported using a four-point rubric. A 3 on the four-point scale
represents the grade level expectation.
We also report on progress toward our District Core Ethical Values and Lifelong Learning behaviors.
A concerted effort has
been made to establish as much consistency as possible in the way our
two elementary programs report student progress. However, some
differences in the progress reports reflect the instructional
differences between the two programs.
The documents below
detail the benchmarks and rubrics for the core academic areas and Core
Ethical Values/Lifelong Learning Behaviors in grades K-4.
In
grades 5-8 the report card combines academic letter grades with
rubric-based reporting of progress toward curriculum benchmarks. The
letter grade for each reporting period represents the quality of work
completed during that period, while the rubric-based benchmark reporting
represents progress toward the end-of- year expectations. Rather than
delineating a four-point rubric, teachers have described proficiency for
each benchmark.