Warwick schools continue work to develop new report card format

Matt Bower
Posted 1/15/15

Dr. Anne Siesel, assistant director of curriculum for Warwick Public Schools, and the K-6 Report Card Committee have been hard at work designing a new report card for Warwick elementary …

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Warwick schools continue work to develop new report card format

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Dr. Anne Siesel, assistant director of curriculum for Warwick Public Schools, and the K-6 Report Card Committee have been hard at work designing a new report card for Warwick elementary students.

Siesel said it’s been 18 years since the report card has been updated, and “none of what’s on the current report card applies to the current curriculum.” She said the school department has attempted to transition to a standards-based report card in the past, but it was something the community was not yet ready for and did not want.

“Last time we tried to do this, it failed because the community was not ready for standards-based reporting,” she said, adding that standards-based report cards use a 1-4 rating system, similar to the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) test, with 1 being least proficient and 4 being most proficient.

If the department were to transition to a fully standards-based report card, the proficiency rating system would replace the traditional letter grade system currently in use.

In an effort to avoid the same outcome as the previous attempt, Siesel said the department is taking steps to include the public’s input and has already released a survey asking people if they know what standards-based reporting is and whether they would be in favor of it.

“We’re trying to get support every step of the way with the community and teachers this time around,” she said, adding that she first talked about the need for updating the report card system during a presentation to the School Committee before administering the survey.

Siesel said the results of the survey have come in and are now posted on the school department’s website, www.warwickschools.org.

“We got over 500 responses, which was good. Within the first couple of days, we received 200 responses and over time that increased to more than 500,” she said. “We found that people are in favor of standards-based report cards but they still want to see letter grades, so we’re devising a hybrid system.”

According to the results, 47 percent were in favor of the standards-based report card, 23 percent were against it, and 30 percent were unsure. There were a total of 505 responses.

Of those surveyed, 357 were parents or guardians (71 percent), 127 were teachers (25 percent), 13 were administrators (3 percent) and six were community members (1 percent). There was equal representation among the Warwick Veterans, Pilgrim and Toll Gate feeder areas, with at least 150 respondents from each. The majority of respondents said they were familiar with both the Common Core State Standards as well as a standards-based grading system.

“It’s very reliable data that is representative of the community,” Siesel said.

Through different approaches and incorporating teacher input, Siesel said the report card committee has come up with five hybrid options and is in the process of creating another survey to allow the community to weigh in on these options.

“We’re preparing to do another survey. Once we get the feedback at the end of February, we will finalize the hybrid system then go to the School Committee for approval in March/April,” she said.

Regardless of which hybrid system is selected, Siesel said the new report cards will be aligned to the Common Core standards in math and English language arts, and the rest of the subject areas would be aligned to the Rhode Island state standards.

“With the hybrid system, students would receive traditional letter grades on the subject matter, but all the priority standards would be rated according to proficiency,” she said.

For example, with the subject of reading, students would receive a letter grade corresponding to how well they understand written materials, but then indicators – along the lines of “does the student analyze text well” or “does the student use appropriate vocabulary” – would be rated according to proficiency.

“This will give parents a lot of insight into what their children are learning and how well they are learning it,” Siesel said. “It’s a different way of looking at how well students are learning.”

Siesel said in the eight to nine pages of comments received along with the survey results, people said they were more comfortable with traditional letter grades because they know what an “A” means, but not necessarily what a “4” means.

“Proficiency says you’ve met a standard,” Siesel said. “There was no way of delineating the amount of proficiency in the original proposal to change the report cards.”

Siesel said the new report cards will be longer, as seven different forms would need to be printed out, as opposed to just the two forms that are used now.

“We’re expecting the second survey to be ready by the end of January,” she said.

To view the results of the first survey, visit www.warwickschools.org and click on the “Report Card Survey Results” link in the center of the home page.

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