The Tucson Unified School District is an urban school district with approximately 60,000 students in grades K–12 and more than 50 percent of the students classified as minority. During the past five years, the district has undertaken quality improvement efforts that have contributed to a change in the emphasis of instruction.
Our district used the state documents called “State Essential Skills” to produce a CORE Curriculum as the basis for instruction in language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The CORE Curriculum for language arts uses a literature-based approach with a strong emphasis on writing. Mathematics emphasizes problem solving and communication of mathematical concepts. Science focuses on scientific processes and hands-on learning. Social studies supports the goal of preparing students to participate effectively in their communities and the larger world.
Arizona has also changed its assessment procedures. Norm-referenced testing occurs in the fall. Performance assessments, scored with 4-point rubrics describing levels of performance, occur in the spring.
Because of these changes, some elementary principals and teachers became dissatisfied with the old report card form. District leadership established a team of teachers, principals, and parents to study the matter and develop a plan.
The Development Process
- teachers would be using one approach to assessment, not two;
- rubric descriptions would provide more information to parents than would a letter grade; and
- consistency across the district would be improved so that a score at one school could be compared with a score at another school.
We also saw this as an opportunity for teachers to focus on the curriculum and to guide their classroom instruction and assessment. Because the descriptions and standards delineated on the Progress Report communicate what we as a district believe is important, this assessment tool will help to drive instruction.
The prototype Progress Report allows for the assessment of students in two general categories—Learner Qualities and Content Areas. The concepts and skills under Learner Qualities are those of a Self-Directed Learner, Collaborative Worker, Problem Solver, Responsible Citizen, and Quality Producer. The Content Areas are reading, writing, listening and speaking, mathematics, social studies, science, health, and fine arts.
Following the state's format for scoring student performance on State Essential Skills, we established rubrics or descriptions of performance for each concept within the Learner Qualities and for each Content Area. Again in keeping with the state model, we labeled them 4, 3, 2, and 1. The 4 rubric or description sets the standard we hope all students can attain; it reflects the expectations of the curriculum and the State Essential Skills. Below are examples of two descriptions: Self-Directed Learner4 — Student regularly sets achievable goals, considers risks and makes choices about what to do and in what order to do them, reviews progress, and takes responsibility for own actions.3 — Student often sets achievable goals, considers risks and makes some choices about what to do and in what order to do them, usually reviews the progress being made, and often takes responsibility for own actions.2 — Student rarely sets achievable goals, has difficulty making choices about what to do and in what order to do them, needs help to review progress, and seldom takes responsibility for own actions.1 —Student requires help setting goals, completing tasks, and making choices; does not yet take responsibility for own actions.Writing4 — Student writes in a clear, well-written, meaningful way; uses appropriate detail, description, grammar, and spelling; follows a logical order; and chooses the appropriate format.3 — Student writes in a clear, well-written way that may have minor interruptions; often uses appropriate detail, description, grammar, and spelling; and sometimes follows logical order.2 — Student writes with some organizational flaws, seldom writes in an appropriate or logical way, provides few details or descriptions, and uses inappropriate grammar and spelling.1 — Student does not yet understand how to communicate through writing and needs to attempt to write more often.
For each Learner Quality and Content Area, teachers may write a comment, a vital component of the reporting process. The descriptions provide teachers with points they can clarify or highlight about a student's performance.
The power of the reporting system lies in presenting all four descriptions on the report form. Parents and students thereby know the standard as well as the performance required to attain each level.
Another powerful component of the Progress Report is the final page, which provides a place for the teacher to indicate what was used to assess that student's performance (for example, portfolios, assessments, classroom observation). In addition, a section with sentence starters helps both parents and students to make comments to the teacher and to indicate areas of focus for the next grading period. This page encourages three-way communication and responsibility in the student's education.
The Review Process
Although our original intention was to use the same Progress Report for grades K–5, feedback from teachers, principals, and governing board members convinced us to develop a separate Progress Report for kindergarten. Whereas the Progress Report for grades 1–5 focuses heavily on the intellectual realm, the new Kindergarten Progress Report gives equal weight to the social, personal, physical, and intellectual growth of the child.
As the pilot time drew near, a reviewer asked, “What are you going to do if the parents don't like this?” The central administrative team agreed that this was not a pilot to determine “if” we will proceed, but “how” we will proceed. The prototype may not be the eventual form, but it has set the stage for the pilot process.
The Pilot Process
While revisions were made throughout the review process, we wanted a pilot process that would further refine the structure and wording as well as give us information about the best ways to introduce the new assessment process to administrators, teachers, students, and parents. We knew that the key to successful implementation of the new Progress Report was frequent communication with both teachers and parents. Central office resources dictated that that could initially be done in only a handful of schools.
The principal and 80 percent of the faculty had to agree to be a pilot before their school could be chosen. Ultimately, eight schools, representing the diversity of district programs and student population, were chosen to pilot the Progress Report for the third and fourth quarter grading period. Enrollment at the pilot schools totaled approximately 3,000 students.
Faculties at these schools discussed the philosophy behind the Progress Report as well as how the form could be created on computer. We also offered inservices on rubric scoring if faculty members felt that they were not familiar enough with the process. How much contact was needed depended on the comfort level of the faculty and principal. Most teacher concerns dealt with the wording of the descriptions and whether parents would understand. Staff members were also concerned about the logistics of creating the reports.
Each school held parent meetings. Parents questioned how they would know whether their children were working at grade level, how they would know if a child was failing, and how they would know what content was actually being covered. We discovered early on that the first task was to educate parents about the curriculum and how we evaluate student performance. Once their concerns were addressed, most of the parents recognized that the new system would provide more information about their children and would hold teachers accountable for an accurate portrayal of the children's performance.
Teachers shared with parents the power of clear expectations for the students. They reported that, when they introduced this method of assessing student performance, students accepted it and understood it quickly. Students also were motivated by the control this system gave them over their own learning.
The Progress Report was sent home in early March. We also sent home a short survey for both parents and students to complete, asking what they liked and disliked, and what they would change about the new Progress Report. (Teachers received a similar questionnaire.)
Of the surveys that have been returned, parents generally indicated that the new Progress Report provided a clearer, more concise picture of how their children were performing, but that it would take some time to get accustomed to it and to see whether the new process will change student performance. Some felt the form was too long, too wordy, and cumbersome. A few did not like the change at all. The clarity of expectations was reflected in one parent's comment:I like the grading process because it gives a definite description of the evaluation process. My biggest concern with [my child] is that he is always given A and A+ marks the first quarter and then has nothing to work toward and usually goes down. Maybe this process will help.
Students tended to reflect their parents' feelings, but also seemed to like or dislike the form according to their scores. One student's comment reflected what teachers had said about expectations, “I like this report because it tells you what you did to get the grade that you got.”
Feedback from the principals indicated that this process has already improved communication between schools and parents, improved writing instruction, provided an instruction guide for teachers, and increased communication among teachers.
Answers and Questions
- This approach to reporting student progress requires a thorough understanding of the curriculum by both parents and teachers.
- Central office support for the schools is vital for morale as well as for information dissemination.
- Communication is the major key to acceptance. Once parents understand the Progress Report, acceptance and appreciation are almost unanimous.
- Will the clarity of expectations and standards improve student performance?
- Will teachers accept the concept and make the necessary changes in the day-to-day instruction and assessment of their students?
- Will the length of the report prove too cumbersome?
- Will parents agree that the new report form offers the information they want about their children's progress?
Regardless of the unanswered questions, the district is committed to aligning the Progress Report with district curriculum and assessment. The structure and wording may change, the implementation process may be altered, but the concept will remain.
