Dear District 58 Families,
As we prepare for the transition into hybrid learning (with a fully remote option) next week, one component of that transition includes an adjustment to grading and reporting. We will be identifying today (Oct. 15) as the last day of Trimester 1 and providing a progress report instead of a report card to share information on learning standards and learner behaviors with families. This Progress Report will stand alone, and will not factor into future formal report cards in Trimester 2 and 3.
District 58 uses a standards-based report card for the purpose of providing feedback to parents and students regarding the student’s achievement toward the specific learning standards at his/her grade level at a given point in time. In a typical year, we provide this report card at the end of each trimester, which is approximately 12 weeks of instruction.
Currently, we have completed six weeks of instruction, or roughly half of a typical marking period. We know that those six weeks have been an unique experience; we also know that on Tuesday, all students will be experiencing a new instructional model. To that end, we have decided to mark this transition clearly with Trimester 1 concluding today (Oct. 15) and Trimester 2 beginning on Oct. 20 (and concluding on March 5 as originally planned).
We want to honor and acknowledge our responsibility to report progress to families; we want to recognize and value the student work and assessment that has occurred over the past six weeks. At the same time, we recognize that six weeks is not the length of a typical marking period and not the length of time we would use to arrive at a formal report card. As a result, the Trimester 1 Progress Report will be different from a traditional report card in numerous ways.
The Trimester 1 Progress Report will be available to families on Oct. 30 through the PowerSchool portal; we will not be printing and sending home copies unless you request one from your school. The Progress Report will include reporting on learner behaviors and learning standards that have been sufficiently taught and assessed during this first six weeks. Because of the shortened trimester this will not include all of the standards we would typically assess during Trimester 1 as we simply won’t have sequentially covered each and every identified state standard.
For middle school students, the Progress Report will include non-binding letter grades and will include language that acknowledges this as a Progress Report and not a formal grade. We will be working with District 99 to ensure that this trimester Progress Report is reflected for what it is, and does not have any unintended or adverse effect on high school class placement.
Finally, the Progress Report information will not appear on future report cards for all students, and Trimester 2 and Trimester 3 Report Cards will not include information from Trimester 1.
If there are any further questions regarding grading and reporting, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly. Thank you for your continued partnership in education.
Sincerely,
Justin Sisul
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
jsisul@dg58.org
630-719-5867