Revised August 2011

1. Growing Success – Reporting Student Achievement Revised August 2011

2. Growing Success Overview • For Grades 1 to 6, student achievement of the overall curriculum expectations will be reported using letter grades. • For Grades 7 to 12, a student’s achievement of the overall curriculum expectations will be reported using percentage marks.

3. Special Education Highlights • The IEP specifies whether the student requires: • accommodations only; or • modified learning expectations, with the possibility of accommodations; or • an alternative program, not derived from the curriculum expectations for a subject/grade or a course.

4. Special Education Highlights • Teachers working with students who have special education needs use assessment and evaluation strategies to: • specify and verify the student’s needs; • support accurate decisions about the student’s program; • support a range of other decisions, such as those relating to referrals, screening, classification, instructional planning, and determining next steps; • help determine particular interventions that may be necessary to enable the student to demonstrate achievement.

5. Elementary Progress Reports • Two versions:  Grades 1-6 and Grade 7 & 8. • Intended to become a central part of rich discussions with students and their parents in the context of proactive interviews or conferences. • Issued between Oct 20 and Nov 20 • Provincial Progress Report Template can only be used for November report. • Learning skills are on the first page . • It is not necessary for teachers to comment on all subjects/strands in the one space provided for comments.

6. Provincial Report Cards • Provincial Report Card- 1-6, 7-8, 9-12 • Three versions:  Grades 1-6, Grade 7 & 8 (Elementary), and Grade 9-12 (Secondary); • Designed to show student achievement at two points in the school year:  Sep-Jan/Feb and Jan/Feb to June.

7. Elementary Provincial Reports • French: 3 strands are reported for both terms • Native Language : 3 strands are reported for both terms • Mathematics: at least four of the five strands are reported for each term, each strand is reported at least once per year • History and Geography: reported for both terms, each is reported at least once per year.  When students are instructed in only one of History or Geography for the reporting period, parents should be informed at the beginning of the reporting period.  • Health Education and Physical Education: reported for both terms • The Arts: at least three of the four strands are reported for each term, each strand is reported at least once per year • Information Technology: reported on for each term

8. Elementary Provincial Reports • Grades 1 to 6: achievement is reported as a letter grade with a plus or minus sign as appropriate. • For students in grades 1 to 8 whose achievement is reported as “R” on the provincial report card, teachers should describe the specific remedial measures or strategies that have been developed to address the student’s specific learning needs and the parental support required.  • Teachers should contact the parents as soon as possible in order to consult with them and involve them in supporting the student. • Grade 7 and 8: teachers will use the code “R”, to indicate achievement below 50%. • Students enrolled in a school for 42 days or more must be issued a report card.

9. Secondary Provincial Reports • For semestered schools, there is a first and final report per semester. • SHSM box needs to be checked on the first and final reports if the student is earning a credit towards a Specialist High Skills Major. • Teachers may also include comments about the student’s learning skills and work habits in the “Comments” section of the report card provided for each course.

10. Secondary Provincial Reports • For students in Grades 9 to 12 whose achievement is recorded at below 50 per cent, teachers should describe specific remedial measures that are planned or strategies that have been developed as well as the kind of parental support that will be required.  • In such cases, teachers should contact the parents as soon as possible in order to consult with them and involve them in supporting the student. • For grades 9 and 10, “I” is used to indicate insufficient evidence – it is not intended to be used for students with chronic absenteeism. • For the report card, teachers will use their professional judgement to determine when the use of “I” is appropriate and in the best interests of the student. 

11. Report Card Comments • In writing anecdotal comments, teachers should: • focus on what students have learned, describe significant strengths, and identify next steps for improvement.  • strive to use language that parents will understand .  • When appropriate, make reference to particular strands.  • The comments should describe in overall terms what students know and can do and should provide parents with personalized, clear, precise, and meaningful feedback.  • Teachers should also strive to help parents understand how they can support their children at home. • It is important that teachers compose and use personalized comments on report cards as an alternative to selecting from a prepared set of standard comments.

12. Continuous Communication • In addition to reports mandated by ministry policy, communication with parents and students about student achievement should be continuous throughout the year, by means such as parent-teacher or parent-student-teacher conferences, portfolios of student work, student-led conferences, interviews, phone calls, checklists and informal reports. • Communication about student achievement should be designed to provide detailed information that will encourage students to set goals for learning, help teachers to establish plans for teaching, and assist parents in supporting learning at home.

13. Median • The median is the percentage mark at which 50 per cent of the students in the course have a higher percentage mark and 50 percent of the students have a lower percentage mark. • Students who have a mark below 50% or an “I” for a particular course on their report card and students whose report cards have the boxes for IEP and or ESL/ELD checked are included in the calculation of the median. • All students in grade 7 or 8 who are studying the subject/strand should be included in the calculation of the median of the median for the subject/strand. • Grades 9 to 12 – all students who are taking the course should be included in the calculation of the median for the course.