‘New Students’ I wonder what your former report cards looked like…A’s and B’s…Percentages? Comments?

Students who’ve been at S.A.S. for awhile… how many ‘2’s have you received in years past…how many ‘4’s???

What are your hopes and dreams for your child’s report card next week parents? Are you aiming high? Preparing for the worst?

None of my current students have received a report card from me before so I’ve spent some class time this week showing them the reports I have been writing, because they are THEIR report cards and it is more important than anything for me (well, not ANYTHING, but you know what I mean) that my class understand how I give their grades and why I am writing what I am. When I say writing, parents and students, I mean laboring, dwelling, reflecting, thinking, pondering, worrying, comparing, drafting… report cards seem to be a pretty important gauge of a child’s progress here at S.A.S. and so I really care about what goes into them. There are so many considerations, reports are so subjective.

The conversations we’ve had this week have been great, especially as the Library Pages went around doing their own assessment today for our Margriet Ruurs decorate-a-door competition, congratulations to Mrs. Dixon’s Second Grade Class. The fact that one quarter of my class were involved in this process, ensured some lively discussion about how difficult it is when you are comparing and assessing something that is essentially so different? How can you compare the merit of a first grade finger painting of a camel with a 5th grade poem; a hand drawn picture of Margriet Ruurs with a photocopied but beautifully colored illustration from one of her books? I think it was great for the class to have some dealings with assessment so they can see how complex the idea is.

So, for the record, I want you to know some things one week ahead of when you’ll be reading these report cards yourself.

1. 1 is the number of 1’s I have given out at in 6 years at S.A.S. (It is the lowest score that can be achieved on our report card?

2. I give 2’s…lots of 2’s… but I don’t think I give as many as I should!

3. 3 is for 3, it is a great place to be, when I give a 3, I hope you feel hap-py! (read with rhythm please)

4. I think a number 4 on the first trimester report card is very very rare and I don’t give them lightly.

I hope you take some time to read the comments I’ve written on your child’s report card (their eyes immediately jumped to the numbers when we were looking at them this week), admittedly there is some cutting and pasting going on with longer narratives, however, I try really hard to let you know that I KNOW your child and have their best interests, their ongoing learning and their happiness in mind as I teach them and as I write my comments.

The day you are reading these report cards, I will be in Hong Kong attending an EARCOS conference over my weekend titled:

Assessment: From Planning to Analysis, Formative & Summative Assessments

This will be run by Bambi Betts, an educator I have been hearing about since I arrived in Shanghai in 2005, she has visited our campus a number of times. One of the main reasons I want to attend this conference is because assessment is really not one of my favorite things… I enjoy the process of the work, the journey, far more than the destination, we often learn so much along the way, it seems so cruel to some all of that learning up with a number or a score. How can I capture in a couple of paragraphs all the great things I share with your child each day for three months at a time?

So I am hoping to hear some things at this conference that enable me to see assessment with fresh eyes.