Page 3, Foothills View, Nov. 4,1982
Inside Report Card
News Of Cleveland County Schools
I
VJ
Focus On The Report
'‘A single letter grade is somewhat like telling about
a tiger by examining one of its pawprints. It over
simplifies and undertells the story. ”
They’re Not Singing
That Same Old Song
Dr. Jerry Blake, County Superintendent
“I can’t do it next week. My report card will be
out by then,” an over-sized eighth grader was
heard to say. He raised the point of report cards.
Since report cards are just out (November 2), I
decided to focus on them this week. .
The common concept of report cards is as old as
schools— A’s, B’s, and C’s or'worse, given as in
dicators of progress on grade-level work. When I
came along, everybody believed in the report
card.
Not long after I became a teacher, I discovered
that my belief in the report card as a simple, ac
curate way to tell parents how Johnny was
progressing was a misplaced faith.
Representing a child’s progress in school work
with a single letter grade is somewhat like telling
about a tiger by examining one of its pawprints. It
oversimpiifies and undertells the story
Every day pupils work on and learn new skills
and concepts. Some learn fast; some, not so fast.
Learning adds to differences among pupils.
Since pupils come to school with age differences
as great as from October to September and
learning differences as great as two years of
school work, a report card with A’s or D’s will not
give the precise story.
Significantly, the school is designed to help
pupils grow and learn, to become different from
what they were when they first came with Mom or
Dad for kindergarten.
Schools make reporting harder by adding to
each child’s differences from his friends. So A’s
etcetera tell even less of the story.
The best national evidence from standardized
tests reveals that at any grade level, even for
closely grouped classes, pupil learning ranges as
many years as the number of the grade level.
In the third grade, pupils will be different by as
much as three years-from the middle of first
grade to the middle of the fourth grade.
In seventh grade, the range will be from middle
of third grade to the middle of tenth grade in the
.basic skills of reading and math. Such great dif
ferences are hard to pinpoint with A, B, C, D, and
E.
More important than where a youngster is
working in basic skills is what skills he does have
and what skills he lacks. Teachers, principals and
other instructional supervisors have long sought a
more accurate and useful way to report to parents.
Cleveland County Schools have put their efforts
into developing a reporting system that has these
carefully considered goals:
1. To report to parents in such a way that they can
believe in the report
2. To report so that parents can tell where their
youngster is working-on grade level, below grade
level or above grade level
3. To report to parents what skills we are trying to
teach, what skills of these taught have been
learned, and what skills must still be learned
We believe we come closer to achieving all three
goals each new school year.
This week report cards for pupils in grades 1-6
include a list of what skills we have tried to teach.
A score by each skill shows whether or not the
pupil has mastered that reporting goal. Each
parent can tell what skills his child needs to work
on.
At times other than the end of report periods,
pupils are tested, and results are made available
to the teacher and parent. This report on skills
tried and not learned can be valuable if parents
use it to help him relate his assignments to the
skills list and to help him understand that the skill
he is working on is required for advancing to the
next level.
Nothing could be more important than the
parents’ helping. Because pupils love and admire
parents, the mom or dad who spends some time
helping shows that one of the most important
prople in the child’s world thinks learning is im
portant. No better model can exist for a child.
Members of the Opera
Can Be Fun troupe are
pictured with the ten
pre-selected students,
chosen by the school to
participate on the basis
of their musical ap
titude and potential.
troupe with the chosen
students in showing how
a scene from a musical
play is prepared for the
stage.
Excerpts from “The
King and I”, “The
Merry Wives of Wind
sor”, “The Consul”,
“Martha”, and “The
Elixir of Love”, were
performed before the
entire student body.
The demonstration
combined singers of the
Opera Can Be Fun, an
educational program
sponsored by the A.J.
Fletcher Ecucational
and Opera Foundation
and the North Carolina
Department of Public
Instruction, Division of
Arts Education was
presented to students at
South Cleveland
Elementary and West
Cleveland Elementary
last week.
In the longest singing commercial in history. Dr.
Dulcamara (Timothy Braden), a quack physician,
tells of the wonders of his magical potions and lo
tions. This is from The Elixir of Love, a comedy by
Donizette. Students at South Cleveland were
selected to act as villagers and to sing along with
the troup.
Board With
Smoking
Finally, our research shows that learning is
closely related to the time a pupil spends on his
work. While we try to give individual attention, we
cannot hope to give what the parent can give with
just thirty minutes to help on one of the skills the
pupil needs.
Even if the teacher had nothing to do but work
with pupils one-on-one, he could not give fifteen
minutes. Parental supervision of the work
assigned at school can make the difference bet
ween a happy, successful child and an unhappy,
frustrated one who learns to dislike school.
Considerable thought has gone into the design of
the skills reporting system. An even greater
benefit can be derived from it if parents use it to
help keep the youngster working on task.
CONSIGNMENT
SALES
' to sell?
The 1982 Great
American Smoke-Out
Billboard contest had
been won by Pam
Spangler, a 9th grade
student at Burns Junior
High School.
Entries were judged
on appearance,
creativity, and best
illustration on why
people should not
smoke, why people
should quit smoking, or
any idea that supports
the Great American
Smoke-Out.
Pam’s entry will be
made into a billboard
and shown before the
Great American Smoke-
Out (November 18) and
after the isth
•J
Thank You For
We will sell one piece or a house ful. We will
price, advertise, and sell any household
goods except clothing or appliances.
Voting BROYHILL
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