District Moving to New Elementary School Report Cards

Elementary school students’ performance will be presented in a different way at the end of each marking period on new report cards, district officials announced recently.

The new report cards will be sent to parents in December 2013, following parent-teacher conferences that are held the preceding month. Additional reports will be issued in March and June.

The cards will inform parents of a student’s learning progress based on the district’s curriculum, which is aligned to the state’s Core Content Curriculum Standards and the Common Core State Standards.

Other area school districts, including Paramus, Glen Rock and Wyckoff already use the new report cards.

The new reports are designed to show how well a student understands specific concepts in a specific subject area. District officials said that this method of evaluation provides more detailed information and feedback on how a student progresses through a specific concept or subject area than the traditional letter-based scale.

The new system will be based on four performance indicators, Superintendent Ray Gonzalez said.

Students will be given a “performance indicator” of one through four. Students who “demonstrate an understanding that goes beyond grade level expectations” earn a four. Students who “do not meet the learning standards and don’t “demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge and skills” presented will receive a one.

Officials said that teachers would engage in “ongoing communication” with parents via phone calls, e-mails, and conferences to provide further feedback, beyond the new report cards.

A parent representative from each elementary school met with Diane Pandalfi, director of elementary education, and school principals to give feedback on the new report cards. A community forum on the matter, along with a presentation, was also held.

To view the presentation and a sample report card, click here. A copy of the presentation has also been attached to this article.

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