Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/11437
suming. A recent redesign of her dis- trict’s report cards has helped. But re- port cards are still time-intensive for teachers to fill out, with 18 standards for math and 22 standards for English. “The new report cards are hopefully more user-friendly for parents,” says Basin, a m ember o f t he Murr ieta Teachers Association. “We’ll find out how user-friendly they are in a f ew weeks when we have parent-teacher conferences.” The s chool’s g rading r ubric wa s changed from 1-4 to 1-5, with a new category to indicate that students are advanced. The numbers now correlate with standardized test scores, with 1 standing for “far below basic”; 2 f or “below basic”; 3 for “basic”; 4 for “pro- ficient”; and 5 for “advanced.” Students are graded separately on “effort” in every subject, so they can be acknowledged for trying to master the material. “You might have a child who is a 2 — or below basic — in read- ing, but his ef fort is excellent,” ex- plains Basin. “He tries his best every day, does his homework and does his reading logs. That’s different than a child who needs improvement but is not putting any effort out. I think that kids try harder when they are graded on ef fort and held accountable f or their learning.” To make s tandards-based report cards easier for parents to understand, members of the La Cañada Teachers Association give the very first report card “face to face” during conferences, so they can explain exactly how chil- dren are evaluated and what the stan- dards mean. RIGHT: Teresa Basin, a Murrieta Teachers Association member and second-grade teacher, works with Juan Arreguin and Jamie Johnston. INSET: Kyle Larson and Alyssa Gomez at Rail Ranch Elementary School. MAY 2010 | www.cta.org 11