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on a regular report card, or just their IEP stuff?
Just curious. Aaron has gotten a report card in addition to the IEP updates thus far, but our school doesn't really "grade" until second grade, which he will be moving into next year. So far it has just been "S", "N", and "U" grades. I guess I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to have the regular report card with real grades, or if it would discourage him. His work will be modified for a number of subjects, so I'm not sure how that would work either. Any thoughts?
He only gets the s= secure b=beggining and d= developing a skill. Second grade is also when they start to give grades. If I understand correctly he will be graded on the modified work not on what the others do at grade level. example might be if Drake were to spell 8 out of 15 spelling words weekly, then if he spelled all 8 correctly he would recieve an A. He will also recieve a p for participation for things that he does not have modified work for yet ( social studies, science and health). Not sure I like the whole system. Yet I am sure that I am not ready to see the actual grades he would recieve if he were to be graded at grade level. I think that if Drake were to see his grades at graade level and then see his brother and sister grades he would become very upset and stop trying. Hope that helps
that is exactly what I am worried about with the real grades. His brother is a year behind him in school and will likely be the straight A student. What I suggested to the resource teacher was to grade him based on what he is responsible for. For example, aaron's IEP reads that he will master second grade benchmarks (these are the minimum benchmarks to reach in order to go on to 3rd grade) with 70% accuracy. So, I was thinking if he gets a 70% on a test, that would be an "A" for him, and go down appropriately. They can always keep the % grades separate for thier records. Does that make sense?
grades and 70% being an A for Aaron. Drake's brother is in 2nd grade this year and a straight A student. He reads at a 6th grade level so Drake is just going to be crushed when he realizes the grades and there is no way of keeping it a secret. That would not help Ryan out he would quit trying just because of not being able to be open and proud of his grades and he deseves that. As Aarons brother deserves to be proud of his grades. Aaron also needs to feel proud too and that is by grading him on what is expected.
this is a great way to modify the grading system. First, it is in line with his IEP goals so as a parent you get an accurate picture of where he is at. Secondly it is a measurable goal so that the teachers and administrators have a clear way of showing
AYP (annual yearly progress - for those that are under the NCLB law - you are in US right?). This is very important to teachers and administrators who are being held accountable and must have concrete ways of showing this. You know you are on the right track when you can see the correlation between benchmarks, IEP's and grading. Give yourself and your school a pat on the back!! You are really on the right path.
Everytime report cards come out, we get a new copy of Jackson's IEP. About 2 weeks before report cards i go in and we go over everything on his IEP and see what goals he has met and which he hasn't. What has to be changed and what not. Jackson is not working anywhere near grade level though, so it might be different for others. Jackson is in grade one this year and we are still working on body parts/awareness and colors. The basics.
I am just not sure where to go with it. I think he will wonder why he isn't getting a report card if he doesn't, but I also don't want it filled with a bunch of "D's" either. I think that would be very discouraging (to both of us). Thanks for your input.
in regards to goals on the IEP, but she is in 1st grade so not sure how long her school grades this way. Gabi's IEP meeting is coming up within the next couple weeks so I will have to ask about that. I'm not sure I want to see her graded. I don't think she will understand, but I think for me it will cause more frustration and disappointment. Is that just me living in denial? I hope not!
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Wife to Ryan & mom to Jeremy-14, Gabriella (Gabi)-7, & Preston-3 months & stepmom to Christopher-11 & Anthony-10
so for now, her report cards all have the S (satisfactory) N (needs improvement) W (working on it), etc. She gets the report card in addition to her IEP update. I think they start receiving grades on the report card in 2nd grade around here.
jk/sk reports are purely anecdotal (just comments - no grades). Most students, Adam included, don't have an IEP in kindergarten.
from grade 1 to grade 7, letter grades are given. If a child is on an IEP, there is a box to check in front of the subject area (eg. language, Math, etc.) The child's grades, then, are not reflective of the expectations of the curriculum for the grade, but rather the expectations spelled out in the IEP. In that way, a child who is, say, reading well below grade level, yet is reading at the level spelled out in his IEP, he may get an A or a B in reading. The comment section will state that the mark in this subject is in accordance with the IEP.
Both of my girls are identified as gifted, so they get their IEP boxes checked off & their grades are supposed to reflect the goals in their IEPs. In their case, it makes it much harder for them to get an A, since they are doing work that is well beyond grade level.
That's how we do it in Ontario, at least in my school board. Let me tell you, I've written my fair share of report cards!
Shawen is in fourth grade and gets letter grades based on his work. I can't say they're based on his IEP because we don't write a goal for what he's going to learn in every unit of every subject. He's tested on less material, but is graded on how he does on his tests.
That said, I don't really review his report card with him.
Aaron doesn't have individual goals anymore either
April 12 2007, 2:46 PM
What we have done on his the last 2 years is write 2 goals. They basically read: Aaron will master first grade bench marks with 70% accuracy. And we also have one for the previous years grade so he doesnt' miss anything that he may not have picked up the last year of school. Then they attatch the minimum benchmarks for that grade to the IEP. The only other child with DS I know in our school and older than Aaron does not get graded on a report card. Aaron doesn't care much about report cards yet, but I'm sure at some point he will.
in second grade just like the other kids. AS the years went by we started modifying the grading system. We would grade the whole test for instance but only selected concepts would actually be factored into her "real" grade. That way, she knew what she missed but her grade would fairly represent her effort and progression of knowledge. The concepts that counted were taken directly from her IEP. That way she was held accountable for her IEP goals, exposed to the gen. ed curriculum but not penalized for concepts that were beyond her functioning level.
Hannah is very motivated by grades intrinscally. So it proved to be a great motivator for her. Around 2nd or 3rd grade she would rebel against homework from time to time. I found myself having to really get on her to do it. Then, I called the teacher and asked what the typical reaction would be to incomplete homework. It was a missed recess to finish it, then a lowered grade. So I made a deal with the teacher to follow thru on this. She did and it worked like a charm. I think once a child understands this cause and effect it's a very good milestone and it applies to what we want our kids to understand for the future to be independent adults. If I don't show up to work, do my job then I may get less pay, be fired, etc. My goal for my kids is to learn to be self-motivated, not to be motivated by a parent who forces them to complete their assignment.
Each year it is a process to show teachers that Hannah needs grades that reflect her true effort. Some teachers just want to give her A's because they like her effort (Hannah is generally a very respectful and motivated student). But sometimes the A's come too easy because they are surprised that she is capable of anything. And sometimes she will get D's even when she is putting forth incredible effort. It usually takes some tweaking each year to make sure that Hannah is really earning her grade. Hannah has made the honor roll several times the last few years and I can honestly say she has earned those rewards. Just last night she was at a bowling party for her grades. It was great for socialization and it was a very concrete example of what happens when she works to the best of her ability. And it worked the just as well when she got a D (her first grade below a C plus)the last grading period when she was trying to get by with very little effort.
We have had a few probs this year with grading. I went in once on a day he would have a spelling test to see what was going on because I thought it was strange that he was getting 8/10 words correct when he could only spell like 2 of them at home. I was shocked to see his resource teacher coach him on each word until he finally got it right. It really pissed me off that she was doing that. That is fine for learning, but not to test his knowledge. I think she was doing it so that everyone looked good (especially her) on paper. I told her and her boss that I was not interested in a "pretty IEP" at the end of the year, I wanted my child to actually learn the material. It has gotten a lot better since then. They are holding him more accountable and he has figured out that he really does have to put the effort in. It has made a world of difference since they changed their expectations of him.
I just wish that we didn't have to start from scratch each year, ya know?
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but thanks in advance for the help.
