Elementary Progress Reports

CV has always believed the purpose of progress reports is to communicate student achievement and progress toward student learning objectives, but now our new elementary progress reports actually reflect that! They show how a student is progressing towards their ultimate, year-end learning objectives and goals as dictated by PDE standards and our Profile of a CV Learner. Our progress reports are standards-based (more on that below) rather than numbers-based - which is how our previous progress reports were structured.

Standards-based progress reports list the most essential skills students should learn in each subject at a particular grade level; at CV, those skills are based on PDE standards and the Profile of a CV Learner.

Standards-based assessments provide families with a better idea of whether their student is on track to meet end-of-year standards; it embraces the fact that while students make dramatic progress from day 1 to day 180 each school year, it's not always linear progress - and that's ok! Not only is it ok, it's completely normal and expected! The performance indicators are an indication of actual performance in relation to expected performance.

Keep in mind: Expectations shift as difficulty and complexity of tasks increase throughout the school year! In order to meet grade-level standards, students need to be able to demonstrate all skills in multiple situations and contexts through authentic assessments. 

In our progress reports, families will learn whether their student is meeting standards (M), making consistent progress towards meeting standards (C), or making inconsistent progress towards meeting standards (I). More information on the specific performance level indicators can be found below.

At first glance, the design of the progress reports does not look all that different from previous years, but a deeper dive into the new progress reports highlights some key differences.*

Sample Kindergarten Progress Report

Sample Grade 1-5 Progress Report

*if you need assistance translating the above documents, call the District Office at 717-397-2421.

Highlights:

1. Instead of percentages or traditional letter grades, student performance and progress are now evaluated with letters: M, C, I, or N/A:

• M: Meets Standards
• C: Consistent Progress
• I: Inconsistent Progress
• N/A: Not assessed This Trimester

2. An assessment section based on the Profile of a CV Learner has been added:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Assessment in ELA, Math, and the expressive arts is now tied directly to PDE standards and the Profile of a CV Learner, rather than being based on whether a student is meeting a particular teacher's expectations, their performance on assignments and tests, or perhaps how much effort the teacher believes a student invested.

4. All progress reports are identical from grades 1-5; only our kindergarten progress reports have slight differences. Kindergarten progress reports have slightly different skills listed under ELA and Math.

As students work toward achieving grade level expectations, teachers carefully consider the following in determining progress in all academic and special areas:

• a collection of work over time;
• daily written or oral tasks;
• application of understandings, behaviors and skills (i.e. literacy continuum, reading and writing progressions, math investigations, etc.)
• periodic assessments (checks for understanding, conferring, quizzes, tests, performance tasks).

Yes and no. The progress reports themselves do not look different, but progress reports for these student populations include a special insert.

• Special Education: the insert includes a report on progress monitoring. Students eligible for special education also receive instruction or intervention that is tied directly to the student's individualized education program (IEP) goals. The instruction or intervention is based on the student's instructional levels. Therefore, these students will also receive progress monitoring, which outlines the student's progress toward all IEP goals. 
• ELL: Your child will receive a Language Growth Report. This report shows your student's progress in the four areas of language. It also lists the supports and accommodations your student receives. 

The question and answer below will help provide some insight into how both teachers and families will approach family conferences this year. 

In addition, every teacher is expected to have a hard copy of the progress report to send home with families at Family-Teacher Conferences in November. Teachers will walk families through the new progress reports during Family-Teacher Conferences.  There will be evidence of your student's performance - including artifacts and work samples from the classroom.

We prioritize two-way communication at conferences so families/guardians should bring questions and concerns. If your student works with other teachers (ex: ESL, special education, intervention/enrichment), families may meet and discuss progress with these teachers, as well. 

Progress reports provide great talking points for you and your student and/or you and your student's teacher(s). Rather than focusing on things like test scores and extra assignments, try asking these alternative questions:

Instead of asking ... (Questions that DO NOT align with standards-based grading)	Ask this: (Questions that DO align with standards-based grading)
What assignments is my student missing?	What standards does my student need to focus on to improve their learning?
What extra credit can my student do to improve their grade?	When is the next opportunity for my student to reassess?
How many points is the test/assignment worth?	What learning should my student prioritize for this assessment?
What does my student need to do to improve their grade?	What standard does my student need more practice on to be able to reassess?

You are always encouraged to start with your student's teacher(s) with any questions or concerns or whether you simply need more information. We also invite you to check out the various resources on this page, including a link to PDE standards, information on the Profile of a CV Learner, and progress report sample items.