A division-wide system of reporting student achievement is being carried out at the South East Cornerstone School Division.
Since the amalgamation of several smaller school divisions in 2006, SECSD staff has been requesting a standard report card. This request is finally being implemented for Grades 6 to 9 in the division, with the rest of the grades to follow after more research is done.
The new report cards focus on outcome-based curriculum, as was recently required by the Ministry of Education. Each subject will now list 10 to 14 outcomes, which will be graded on a four-point Achievement Scale. Students will now be marked as "Meeting," "Approaching," "Beginning," or "Experiencing Difficulty" in each subject. Teachers can also mark "Insufficient Evidence" if a student has produced no evidence that indicates a level of understanding of an outcome.
SECSD Curriculum Coordinator Susan Nedelcov-Anderson said that the new reporting system will give parents and students a better understanding of what is expected in each subject and will be a great goal-setting tool as targets will be more clearly defined.
"This will create a good snapshot of what a student should know by the end of the term," said Nedelcov-Anderson. "It will give parents and teachers a really clear picture of where their students might be struggling."
In addition to academic achievements as indicated by outcomes, students will be assessed in the areas of work habits and social skills. These two categories will be shown separately in the report card to allow for a clearer picture of student performance.
Soon all students in SECSD will receive the new report cards. Committees have been formed to look at the unique issues that relate to Kindergarten and High School (Grades 10 to 12) in order to create an outcome-based reporting system for these students. Grade 10 Math will continue to be reported in percentage points, as required by the Ministry of Education.
The new report cards will be coming out in November for Grades 6 to 9. Grades 1 to 5 will be implementing the new outcome-based system for Math and possibly English Language Arts this year.
Since the Ministry has not finalized all subject outcomes, parents may see some subjects still reported in the "old" format.
