Standards-Based Report Cards
Overview
The report card is designed to stimulate an on-going conversation between teachers, parents and students about what is expected of students in a rigorous academic program.
The purpose of the elementary report card within Derry Township School District is to provide a clear and accurate description of each child’s progress in three areas:
- Performance relative to the Pennsylvania Academic Standards established by the PA Department of Education (PDE).
- Academic performance relative to Derry Township School District’s curriculum and grade level benchmarks and expectations.
- Demonstration of the characteristics of a successful learner.
Standards-Based Education
In standards-based classrooms, the focus is on a student’s performance over multiple opportunities, not simply the grading and averaging of tests and quizzes. Standards are specified learning goals applied to all students and provide consistent targets for students to meet. Standards provide a focus for aligning curriculum, instruction and assessment. They are the general categories that organize knowledge within a discipline. Each local school district in Pennsylvania develops curriculum aligned to the PA Standards. In Derry Township School District, the local curriculum exceeds the PA Standards in many areas.
Standards-Based Report Cards
A standards-based report card emphasizes “learning” over “earning”. Each quarter provides students multiple opportunities to practice, attain, and demonstrate proficiency on the PA Standards and the Derry Township School District performance benchmarks.
Through the identification of clear benchmarks, a student’s knowledge and skills are measured on a continual basis, stretching students to perform at their highest level of potential. Teachers collect evidence of a child’s achievement through careful observations, the examination of the student’s work, discussions, projects, performance tasks, quizzes, and tests. Teachers record information about each child’s progress on a frequent basis, analyze and compile that information, and finally use the data to evaluate each child’s progress.