To: Karen Strong, Director Teacher and Learning and Dr. Patrick Sweeney, District Superintendent
Napa Valley Unified School District- Discontinue use of current Elementary School Report card
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We, the parents of NVUSD, respectfully request the district administration and school board to discontinue use of the current format of the new elementary school report card. This problematic system does not clearly indicate success or mastery. It is not helpful for parental oversight nor does it indicate if a student has advanced abilities or knowledge.
Why is this important?
Our children attend elementary NVUSD schools and, since the adoption of the new report cards, we have had extreme difficulty discerning how our kids are doing in class. Specifically, the report card offers us little understanding of what portion of the year’s materials have been taught in that trimester, what the class average is or what level of success is possible. The information we are looking for is the following:
What are my child’s strengths? What does she/he need to improve on? Does my child show particular aptitude or ability in any particular area? How is she/he doing overall?
Specifically we are objecting to the lack of progress reporting for current trimester and the lack of comments for clarification of the grades. The standards are too rolled up to explain specific information about the student so comments are needed.
1) Measurement against year-end goals is discouraging. Young students benefit from measuring progress toward short-term goals; it is unrealistic to expect any elementary-aged child to take the long view.
2)Measurement against year-end goals is too vague to be helpful. The view from year-end perspective doesn’t capture the bursts of learning or difficulty that occur on a week-to-week basis...everything just evens out to “approaching proficiency”, which doesn’t really tell parents or students anything useful.
3)The lack of comments puts the onus on parents to pursue clarification from teachers on what to work on, or to get more specific feedback. Some parents are better at this than others. When teachers added comments, reluctant parents didn’t have to overcome obstacles such as shyness, hesitation over language fluency, busy schedules, access to technology, unfamiliarity with school structures and procedures, or other impediments.
4) It is better for students and their learning outcomes if parents are provided these comments without having to ask for them.
Our multiple emails and discussion with the administration have not resulted in any action thus far. Through many conversations with fellow parents we have realized that we are not alone and hope the district and school board will listen to the voices of many concerned and frustrated parents. All of our experiences with teachers and school-site administrators have remained extremely positive.
What are my child’s strengths? What does she/he need to improve on? Does my child show particular aptitude or ability in any particular area? How is she/he doing overall?
Specifically we are objecting to the lack of progress reporting for current trimester and the lack of comments for clarification of the grades. The standards are too rolled up to explain specific information about the student so comments are needed.
1) Measurement against year-end goals is discouraging. Young students benefit from measuring progress toward short-term goals; it is unrealistic to expect any elementary-aged child to take the long view.
2)Measurement against year-end goals is too vague to be helpful. The view from year-end perspective doesn’t capture the bursts of learning or difficulty that occur on a week-to-week basis...everything just evens out to “approaching proficiency”, which doesn’t really tell parents or students anything useful.
3)The lack of comments puts the onus on parents to pursue clarification from teachers on what to work on, or to get more specific feedback. Some parents are better at this than others. When teachers added comments, reluctant parents didn’t have to overcome obstacles such as shyness, hesitation over language fluency, busy schedules, access to technology, unfamiliarity with school structures and procedures, or other impediments.
4) It is better for students and their learning outcomes if parents are provided these comments without having to ask for them.
Our multiple emails and discussion with the administration have not resulted in any action thus far. Through many conversations with fellow parents we have realized that we are not alone and hope the district and school board will listen to the voices of many concerned and frustrated parents. All of our experiences with teachers and school-site administrators have remained extremely positive.