The Somerville Public Schools uses a Standards-Based Report Card for students in grades 1-5. Committees of teachers and administrators work collaboratively to create and revise this report card based on the 2011 Massachusetts Frameworks. All Grade 1-5 teachers and administrators across the district reviewed and provided input for the final documents.
We believe that your understanding of what is expected of your child and how well he or she is progressing towards the goals at his or her grade level is very important. We look forward to working together to provide your child with the knowledge and skills to be successful.
Why a Standards-Based Report Card?
The Standards-Based Report Card benefits students, teachers, and parents/guardians. It allows students to be more aware of what is expected of them. It gives teachers across the district a better understanding of what each child should know and be able to do at each grade level and guide their instruction to match each student's needs. It provides parents with a more detailed outline of the expectations in each of the major academic areas (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and History and Social Science) as well as Art, Music, Physical Education, Library Media, and Student Responsibilities, including Work Habits and Conduct.
The Layout
The K-5 report card is issued four times a year. The report card includes detailed items relating to the knowledge and skills your child should attain by the end of the year. Secondly, instead of letter grades, it uses four categories to show your child's progress toward meeting each standard.
-
E: Exceeding the grade level standard consistently
-
M: Meeting the grade level standard and producing quality work
-
S: Progressing toward the standard and producing required grade level work with teacher assistance
-
N: Not meeting the standard and not yet able to produce required grade level work
-
NA: Standard not addressed this term. You should expect to see some N/As used in the first two quarters. This is because the entire curriculum cannot be taught at once. While some learning standards will be addressed throughout the entire year, others will be phased in as the school year progresses.
