report card

Connor received his first report card just before Christmas.  Harrison Township does "trimesters" so there are three report cards per school year (hence the "tri"...probably didn't need to explain that).  Another fun thing in Harrison Township is the rubric grading system and the "B", "D", "S" thing, both of which need explaining and understanding if you want to get anything out of looking at the report card.

All subjects, with the exception of writing, are graded on a 4 point rubric. A "3" is the district's standard..."meeting expectations". A "4" is "exceeding expectations". You can kind of figure then what a "2" and a "1" mean. B=Beginning, D=Developing, S=Successful. I think that's it. Oh no wait, there is also the "-", "*" and "+" given to some of the skills listed on the report card under the subject areas. Just getting letter grades are a thing of the past. Now you need a college degree to read the report card.

I tried to link to the report card here but I have it saved as a pdf file and blogspot won't link it. In case I don't figure it out, here are the highlights:

• He's in the "Emergent" reading stage.  (Stages in order are: Pre-reader, Emergent, Beginning, Fledgling)
• Mathematics, rubric grade of "4".  Received a "+" in "number and numerical operations" and "patterns and algebra".  Yes, they actually call it algebra.
• Personal/Social Development...there are a lot of skills assessed here.  He received an "S" in everything except "Listens Attentively", "Contributes to Group Activities", "Stays On-task", and "Performs Fine Motor Skills".  Those areas were all a "D" for developing, which means he still needs support in those areas. 

I'm not sure what the listening attentively thing is about.  I'm not surprised about contributes to group activities...he doesn't put himself out there.  The staying on task is related to his slow work pace.  What can I say, Connor thinks a lot, is methodical and a perfectionist.  Three qualities that I happen to have and like.  He does well with time limits if he has a timer or a person to remind him.  Otherwise, forget it...it will get done when he is done.  I've always said he has no sense of urgency.  And finally, performs fine motor skills is about his handwriting, which is so ironic to me.  The irony is that his handwriting is awesome...I need to take credit because I'm pretty sure he comes by it naturally. ;)  For school purposes however, with the exception of the first letter of a sentence, he needs to write in lower case and form his letters from top to bottom.  This is not his preference at all and he lets me know it all of the time.  He'd rather write in CAPS and form his letters from bottom to top.  Since he's a rule follower he does comply, which has actually made his handwriting less legible, again ironic.  Thus, his fine motor skills are "developing". 

Connor did well.  The best part is that he likes school and looks forward to going.  He's reading and writing and shares so many things about what he is learning.  He shares a lot about his classmates too like, who is " a good one" and who is "not a good listener" and who is "annoying" and who is "funny" and who "talks too much".  He could go on and on and typically does, in detail.  It makes me wonder sometimes what his classmates are saying about him to their parents.