Progress Reports
I just finished my progress reports, which are due tomorrow. It’s an easy enough process–just enter a bunch of Ns (In Danger of Failing) or Ps on a spreadsheet, add some comment codes and e-mail the thing back to my AP and the programmer. There was a lot of chatter about progress reports when the city first rolled out this intiative. I didn’t pay much attention to it. I don’t think they are a bad idea in theory, or in practice. Really, it’s not very helpful for the kids to get a report only once a marking period, a report that is usually sent to parents weeks after the marking period has ended anyway. With progress reports, kids get them towards the end of a marking period… that’s not very helpful either. I think the slow turn-around defeats the purpose of issuing the reports. My solution: post the spreadsheet in my room the day I hand it in. I’ve deleted all the kids’ names and left only the columns that contain their ID numbers and the mark they’ve gotten. I included a little note explaining what the marks mean and what the kid should do, based on their mark (see me if they are in danger of failing, keep up the good work if they are passing, since a P is no guarantee of a passing grade at the end of the marking period…).
We’ll see how this little experiment goes tomorrow. I predict a little chaos, but what else is new?
Tamara Eden wrote:
Wow!
I can’t believe NYCS doesn’t do progress reports normally. Or, that’s what I gathered from what you wrote.
My school does a progress report every four weeks. So they get a 4, 8, 12 week progress report and then the 16 week is the final report card and the grade that counts. In addition, parents can either pick up the progress reports on Parent Night or Back to School Night; otherwise they are mailed home.
Another thing I do is similar to you. I regularly post grades in my room, only their ID number to ID them as well. My students stop at the grade wall daily. They always are checking if I updated it. It becomes a focal point and it is right when they walk in. Besides the grades, all the assignments, their scores on that assignment and what they are missing are posted. Oh, and absents and tardies as well. I love EZGradePro.
I’m sure posting the grades will help. I suggest doing it every week or two, you’ll see, they check it and start initiating conversations about their work before you have to
Enjoy your winter break!
Posted on 11-Dec-07 at 8:15 pm | Permalink
Nancy wrote:
We just started doing progress reports for high school this year. I don’t know if they were already in place for middle or elementary school.
Anyway, I do my grades the old-fashioned way…in a gradebook, by hand. LOL. I did use to use a computer program…not sure why I stopped. I think because I use a system of checks for most of the work the kids hand in, and I don’t think you can use checks in a computer program.
But it should be easy enough to come up with a way to post their on-going grades, though my gradebook is open to them whenever they want to look at it.
Posted on 12-Dec-07 at 4:31 am | Permalink
Miss Teacher wrote:
I give the kids lists of their missing assignments every time I update my grades in my grade book. I also use a computer program, so this is easy, but I think it helps a lot.
Posted on 12-Dec-07 at 3:54 pm | Permalink
Se Hace Camino Al Andar :: Mum’s the word. wrote:
[...] the way, regarding the progress reports, it went better than I expected. Some of the kids who received an N were upset but when I showed them [...]
Posted on 14-Dec-07 at 5:39 am | Permalink