Report Card Information
Dear Parents,

Along with other elementary schools in Jordan School District, our grading structure is changing. Report cards will only be produced two times a year, at the end of the 2nd (Jan) and 4th (June) quarters. Parent teacher conferences now held in October provide parents an earlier glimpse into student progress and a way to collaborate with teachers to celebrate learning and address concerns. A second conference in February provides a similar window as we begin the third quarter of the school year.

In January, when you look at your student’s report card (now called a progress report), you will notice some similarities in format, but now there is a greater emphasis on students having all year to demonstrate proficiency. Another shift is that only the most essential skills are listed on the progress report, even though all standards are taught and assessed. 

Teachers have created learning scales to define the path of mastery of each of these essential skills. We call them “power standards.” For more information about power standards and learning scales, please visit our school’s website. Note that a list of each grade level’s power standards along with its associated learning scale can be accessed from a different page on our school’s website as well. Teachers will be using their learning scales to measure and explain student progress so far this year at these October conferences. 

Understanding the path of mastery is easy when we use comparisons with sports. A child who uses a training device when ice skating could be assessed as a level 1, because there is no ability to skate independently without falling down. A child who holds a parent’s hand, but is learning to balance without gripping tightly is a level 2. Once a child can skate alone and falling is rare, they are at a level 3. Only when the child is able to do additional complex maneuvers, such as skating backwards or turning circles, would the child reach a level 4. 

Similarly, completing academic tasks are measured according to increasing levels of independence and complexity. Here is a link to a 4-minute video that gives a great summary of the changes occurring relative to parent-teacher conferences and report cards. It connects the stages of learning to ride a bike with our new report card scale. 

We don’t expect many students to receive 4s with this new system. Proficiency on each standard is measured as a level 3, which may not happen until all the parts of the standard are taught, which for some standards may not be until the end of the year. To clarify, the goal for each standard is to reach proficiency, level 3, by the end of the year.

Here is an informational flyer about some of these changes. If you would like to discuss this further, please speak with your child’s teacher during your conference or reach out to an administrator (Nick Hansen or Cathy Reeder) who would be happy to visit with you.