Learning standards are statements that describe what students should know and be able to do in each subject for each grade level. There is a strategic progression of skills and concepts learned as students move from one grade level to the next. Clear communication is necessary so that teachers, students, and parents have a common understanding of the level of performance that is expected by the end of the year (or term) and what proficiency looks like for each standard.

Standards-based reporting is a method of providing feedback to students and parents regarding performance on grade level learning standards. Standards-based reporting differs from traditional grade reporting in that it de-emphasizes the practice of providing one overall grade for each subject. Rather, students receive a “score” or “performance level” for each standard under the subject, which is (now) listed as a heading. This provides clear information about what grade level standards are most essential and how the student is performing on each one. Academic performance is reported separately from social skills, work habits and behavior on a standards-based report card so as not to blur the actual performance level on grade level standards with other factors.

Over the past ten years, new learning standards have been adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). These standards include The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English/language arts and math, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the new Social Science Standards (history, geography, civics, and economy). The new sets of standards use codes to identify information such as the grade level, subject, domain or strand (similar to category), sub-categories and the standard number. Use of a coding system enables everyone - educators, parents, publishers, consultants, assessment developers, authors, etc. – to identify the standard and have a common understanding of what the grade level expectation is for learning. Here are some examples:

Example #1: English/Language Arts

RI.4.3 stands for Reading, Informational Text, grade 4, standard 3

Example #2: Social Sciences

SS.G.1.1 stands for Social Science, Geography, standard 1, grade 1

• The new terms (performance indicators) and symbols for social skills and work habits are: USUALLY (+), SOMETIMES (✓), and SELDOM (●). The term indicates the FREQUENCY that the skill or behavior is demonstrated by the student.
• The new terms and symbols for academics, fine arts and PE are: BEGINNING (B), DEVELOPING (D), MEETING (M), and EXTENDING (E). The end of year goal is to ‘meet’ each standard.  The term/symbol on your child’s report card indicates the level at which s/he is performing at that point in the year.

Terms and descriptions:

Extending (E)

A teacher might say…                   
“Your child is independently able to apply what has been taught in class, AND s/he is transferring that knowledge to new situations."

A student might say…
“Since I can do this, I can figure out new things on my own!” 

Meeting (M)

A teacher might say…     
“Your child independently demonstrates learning of what has been taught in class at a proficient level.”

A student might say…
“I understand this! I can do this well!” 

Developing (D)

A teacher might say… 
“Your child is progressing in his/her learning of this skill. S/he still needs some support but is approaching the grade level expectation.”

A student might say…
“I almost get it, but I still need some help.”

Beginning (B)

A teacher might say… 
“Your child is at a beginning level and still requires support and/or practice with this skill.

A student might say… 
“I don’t know how to do this yet. I need help.”

In-Progress (IP)*

In-progress means the teacher is continuing to teach the standard beyond the trimester end date.

*only seen on Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 report cards

If a student has been chronically absent or moves into the district later in the trimester, the teacher may indicate that there is Insufficient Evidence (I) to report a grade for the term. A performance level will be indicated at the end of the next trimester when a sufficient amount of evidence has been gathered. Until then, other forms of feedback regarding the student’s progress should be discussed with the teacher.

If a learning standard has not been introduced, due to the sequence of the curriculum, no performance indicator will be provided. The cell will be shaded gray to indicate no score is being given at this point in time. This will be consistent across all classrooms and all buildings for that specific grade level.

Yes, teachers will still provide comments to expand upon the levels of performance assigned to standards. Comments are especially necessary if a student needs additional support with learning a standard, shows a drop in performance or is not growing in his/her ability to demonstrate social skills and work habits that impact learning. Comments should provide feedback and next steps that will support necessary growth.

Students in the EL program receive progress reports at the end of each trimester from their EL teachers. These reports provide feedback for the parents regarding the student’s progress in reading, writing, speaking and listening. These progress reports are given at the same time as the report card, which shares the student’s performance on academic standards, fine arts, PE, and social skills. The student’s English language proficiency will be considered when determining the most appropriate performance level for each standard.

The report card is available in English, Spanish, Korean and Mongolian.

Yes, the standards-based report card is just one method of reporting to parents. Other forms of reporting include: parent-teacher conferences, e-mails, phone calls, portfolios of student work, and assessment results.

Here are blank copies of the standards-based report cards:

Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade