A new standard for evaluating first-graders will be introduced this year in Columbia County schools.
School officials intend to abandon the current grading system based on averages and use "standards based" report cards, starting with the next class of first-graders.
Current report cards show an average of tests given to pupils during a semester.
A standards based report card will measure how well pupils mastered the subject at the end of the semester, not how they struggled to get there, said Michele Sherman, the Columbia County school system's director of elementary student learning.
"A lot of times we have kids come in who really struggle at first," Ms. Sherman said. "But with some support, by the end of it, they do just fine.
"An average doesn't show that. An average just takes all the learning and lumps it in together."
Kindergarten pupils in Columbia County already receive grades based on their mastery of standards.
Ms. Sherman said that adding first-graders was the next logical step in reforming report cards and that it was approved last month by the school board.
Though other Georgia school systems provide standards based report cards in higher grades, that is not an immediate goal in Columbia County, Ms. Sherman said.
"We're trying to take it slow so we don't make mistakes along the way," she said.
In the spring, Ms. Sherman said, officials will start training teachers on the new grading methods and send parents brochures that explain how to read the new report cards.
For parents, the new report cards offer more details on problem learning areas for a particular child.
"A child might do well in addition, subtraction, multiplication but have a hard time with division," Ms. Sherman said. "Standards based report cards will reflect that. It'll show parents that they might need to spend more time with their child on division."
Reach Donnie Fetter at (706) 868-1222, ext. 115, or donnie.fetter@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
As long as the report cards report the progress of the student learning, or not learning, then you can call them anything you want. If, on the other hand, the "new" grading method is designed to cover learning problems, it will just be compounding the situation at the beginning of the learning process. How smart will that be?
So what if a kid starts strong, has some non-school problems, and finishes "not-so-strong"? Then the standards based grading will also be biased, right? Isn't this really just kind of swapping off one system that's front-loaded with bias for another that's back-loaded with bias?
Do current CCBOE report cards show an average of the tests given to students during a given semester? Aren't additional variables such as attendance, class participation, homework submissions also included in the grading mix?
Why not just start educating the kids properly and stop fiddling with the rules? We need to come off the national test score bottom!
Criag, teachers in CC set up their gradebook the way they want. They may choose to give weights to tests, homework, quizzes, etc. At the end of the semester, however, an average of all of those grades is reported on the report card. Standard based report cards will show specific skills and allow teachers to report areas of weakness or strengths to parents. This will create more paperwork for teachers, but it should prove to be beneficial to parents. These report cards will also match the GPS (Ga. Performance Standards) and in the lower grades, reveal areas of weakness before students are required to take the CRCT in April.
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