DEARBORN — After four months of meetings, reviewing report cards from nine other districts, and considerable discussion the elementary report card committee, comprised of more than 40 teachers and administrators, has developed a new elementary report card for grades kindergarten through five. 

The goals of the committee were to create a report card that made understanding student performance easier, incorporate the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and math, and assign a grade-level for student performance in reading and math. 

The first big change that parents will notice on the report card is the conversion from a letter grade to a number. 

The numbers on the report card correspond to the following: 1= Masters Expectations, 2= Meets Expectations, 3= Progressing, 4= Concern.  

A number will appear next to each Common Core State Standard listed on the report card to indicate a student’s performance in meeting that Standard. 

The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and math have been adopted by Michigan. More information on the Common Core can be found at www.corestandards.org. 

A new item on the report card is the reporting of student performance on two different computer-administered assessments, one in reading and the other in math. 

These assessments provide an indication of the grade level the student is performing at in these two subject areas.  For example a score on the reading assessment of 3.2 is equivalent to third grade second month. The same holds true for the math assessment.

The test given in reading is the Scholastic Reading Inventory or SRI reading assessment. The SRI may be given up to three times a year.  Starmath is the math assessment tool and may be given up to four times a year. Students in kindergarten and first grade will not receive an SRI or Star Math score on the first report card. 

The report card also includes a section titled Life Skills and the objectives change from kindergarten through grade five.  In addition there is a notes and comments section at the end. 

Parent feedback and input is a valuable part of any change to the report card. Parents interested in serving on this committee may contact Dr. Chochol, Associate Superintendent of Elementary Education at 827-3026 or email at chochoj@dearborn.k12.mi.us. 

The report card grades represent a summary of what students have learned during the marking period. Report cards are used by teachers as a tool to help them direct their instruction so they can support areas of concern or challenge in areas of mastery. As always, the teacher is the best source of information about a student’s progress. Parent attendance at parent-teacher conferences and utilizing other forms of communication with their child’s teacher is vitally important in the team approach to ensuring student success.