Standards-Based Report Cards

This report card provides more specific information to parents than a traditional numerical report card about standard mastery. Teachers assess young students on their proficiency and growth as they move through the TEKS.

• Early Childhood is defined as a time between birth and age 8.
• Second grade provides the continuation of learning and solidifies the K-2 foundational knowledge students’ gained.
• K-2 students are learning to read so that they can read to learn when they get to third grade.
• Students have a learning path to follow that starts in kindergarten and finishes in second grade. When we segment  second grade from K-1, we fragment that learning continuation.

• Learning and instruction instead of grades and assessments
• Foundational skills over numbers and percentages
• Academic growth mindset for all learners to show improvement
• Student strengths and weaknesses for continual targeted support
• Mastery of a skill over an extended period of time
• Students are able to receive scaffolding, continued learning, feedback and growth towards meaningful mastery

Standards for the report cards are aligned with Texas standards, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The standards selected are essential for student academic success in current and subsequent grades.

Levels will be used on the standards-based report cards to indicate a child’s level of understanding and performance.

• Mastered (4) – Student demonstrates comprehensive, in-depth understanding of the grade-level standard.
   

• Satisfactory (3) – Student demonstrates understanding of the grade-level standard.
   

• Progressing (2) – Student demonstrates some understanding of the standard but lacks proficiency in key areas.
   

• Beginning (1) – Student demonstrates minimal understanding and needs support. 

It is important to note that standards may evolve in rigor and expectation to levels of difficulty throughout the year.  A student’s progress may drop during the year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the student has regressed in the standard. It just simply means that the level of expectation has been raised, and the student has yet to demonstrate mastery of the new expectations.

Teachers assess the standards on the report card by using a rubric to determine student’s understanding for each specific standard. The rubrics provide fidelity in assessment across the district.

• Kindergarten Rubric
• First Grade Rubric
• Second Grade Rubric

The teacher will continue to challenge students either with learning that extends an existing standard or teaching that raises the level of rigor and expectation for mastery. 

Students receiving special education services will continue to work toward goals and benchmarks set in their Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). They will receive a report card that reflects their progress alongside their IEP progress report.

The standards-based report card is specific in the standards expectations; therefore, the new receiving teacher will know exactly what standards have been taught and mastered, as well as standards that need to be focused on for student growth and mastery. Since the standards are from the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, schools within Texas will be instructing and assessing to comparable standards.