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For those parents who attend Eaton Parent Nights the first two weeks of school, you heard us talking about new, more rigorous, state academic standards and requirements for high school graduation.  These changes are directly tied to the federal No Child Left Behind law and are designed to align Tennessee curriculum more closely to national standards.  In addition, the past few years, state testing has moved from norm referenced (where each child is compared to all other students taking the test) to criterion referenced (where each child is measured according to his/her level of skill acquisition).  All these national policies and mandates have led local school districts to become very focused on curriculum goals and aim toward creating learning environments where all children can become proficient in grade level standards. 

Which leads to the question many of you asked at Parent Nights — Why the switch to a Standards Based Report Card?  Loudon County Schools made this change for several reasons:  (1) This type report card allows students and teachers to be clear on the most important skills/content to be learned at that grade level, (2) The standards based report card gives clear information about what students know, what they are able to do, and where they need specific additional help, and (3) Teachers, students, and parents are more focused on the academic strengths and instructional needs of the individual student.  The main purpose of the standards-based report cards is to specifically communicate student progress toward mastery of the new Tennessee academic content standards.  Everyone is on the same page and understands clearly what is expected of students. 

You may wonder how this type of reporting is beneficial to students and parents.  Students can see the exact skills and concepts on which they need to continue working.  They are able to make connections between classroom lessons and the skills and concepts which are on the report card.  Parents will have access to detailed information about their child’s progress toward achieving grade level standards.  If your child struggles or excels in a certain standard, you will know.  This type of reporting also facilitates teacher/parent communication as the child’s academic progress is discussed. 

Eaton teachers will utilize a variety of measures to assess student learning.  These include, but are not limited to, tests, observations, projects, presentations, and graphic organizers. 

A few parents have expressed concerns that without letter grades, students will not be motivated to achieve at advanced levels.  We would contend that as long as our teachers challenge the students with rigorous, challenging curriculum, engage the students with interactive learning opportunities, and tie the learning to real life experiences and examples, that our students will be motivated to do their best.  When a child receives an “M” (Met the state standard), that tells us the child is ready to move on to new material or perhaps more challenging applications for that skill.  Our teachers will use this information to better individualize instruction for our students. 

If you continue to have questions or concerns about these new report card procedures, please come in and have a conversation with me.  This is the pilot year, and I’m sure we will be utilizing all data and feedback as we look toward making any changes for the 2010-2011 school year.

As always, I appreciate your support of our school.  My door is always open.