Grade Reports - Rubric Scores

Your child’s grades reflect a continuum of Learning . . .

    Please sit tonight with your child and review with them their current “grades.”  I would like to assure you on behalf of your child that these grades reflect their progress towards work at the 5th grade level rather than the A’s and F’s of years gone by.  As we begin to look at the whole learner we strive to give them practice through daily work that is graded for an instructional purpose – setting the performance level for adequate learning rather than saying they are an A or F students based on a letter grade.  It is the beginning of the year and they are being taught the classroom and grade level expectations, these are what they have been graded on.

It saddened me when students with teary eyes said “I will be grounded for this 2”  “I am going to be in so much trouble with this 2”.  The 2’s that they have been given are a reflection of their understanding of a concept not a behavior towards their learning.  Please discuss with them how that 2 could have been a 3 that is where the learning will take place.  If your child received a 1 on anything other than a district assessment then you need to discuss with them because this indicates that they did not hand something in or they chose not to do an assignment that should be your area of concern.

    As you review your child’s performance on grade level materials please note the following:

A score of 4 indicates that your child has performed an assignment at a level above the expectations of the given task.  They have a deeper grasp of the concept and were able to show that through their work.  Please remember on most daily and classroom assignments a score of 4 may not be possible.  The score of 4 is usually given on an assessment that would come at the end of a unit.  

A score of 3 indicates that your child is performing at grade level expectations.  On items such as daily classroom assignments, which are often done in small group setting, planner, and items handed in to check for independent work, such as homework the 3 indicates that they did what they were asked to do.  

A score of 2 indicates that they are struggling with understanding of a concept.  We will continue to work on these concepts throughout the year.  If you see a lot of 2’s I would be concerned for your child.  Consistent 2’ indicate that your child is struggling with grade level materials.

A score of 1 is no excuse other than not participating in an assignment or choosing not to hand it in.   Remember that we are in the process of learning to become independent and for some reason in the 5th grade that means that if I am grown up I do not need to hand in my work.  I have never understood this because the only person this really hurts is the child.  Go easy on your child with a one, there is only one way to go, up.  I look through they trimesters scores and note if a child has learned to hand things by the end of the trimester, this shows progress.

    District assessments and AR test scores are based on the following conversion from percentile to rubric as per district guidelines.
        4 = 96% -100%
        3 = 80% - 95%
        2 = 70% - 79%
        1  = 69% and below