The District's mission is to educate students in a safe learning environment so that they may develop to their highest potential and become contributing citizens.

Report Cards - Elementary

Welcome to the St. Vrain Valley School District’s elementary report card website. Our elementary schools have been using a standards-based report card since 2003. The standards-based report card is designed to inform parents about their student’s progress towards mastering the Colorado Academic Standards.

In school year 2011-2012, we adopted newly worded report cards aligned to the Colorado Academic Standards in Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

In 2003, the St. Vrain Valley School District implemented a new Standards-Based Report Card. A standards-based report card lists the most important skills students should learn in each subject at a particular grade level. Specifically, the purposes of a Standards-Based Report Card are:

• To provide more detailed feedback to parents regarding the progress their children are making toward specific learning expectations at their grade level.
• To allow parents and students to understand more clearly what is expected of students and how to help them be successful in a rigorous academic program.
• To provide traditional grades along with scores for each learning expectation addressed in a grading period.

Standards-based report cards provide more consistency because all students are evaluated on the same grade-appropriate skills. Parents can see exactly which skills and knowledge their children have learned.

On December 10, 2009, the Colorado State Board of Education adopted new content standards, creating Colorado’s first fully aligned preschool through high school academic expectations. Developed by a broad spectrum of Coloradans representing Pre-K and K-12 education, higher education, and business, utilizing the best national and international exemplars, the intention of these standards is to prepare Colorado students for achievement at each grade level, and ultimately, for successful performance in postsecondary institutions and/or the workforce.

The revised standards articulate the concepts and skills students are to master at each grade level, pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. In the new standards grade level expectations and evidence outcomes define mastery expected at a specific grade level.

By December 15, 2011, each school district was required by statute (CRS 22-7-1013) to review its standards in comparison with the Colorado Academic Standards (CAS). Following the review, local education agencies revised its standards as necessary to ensure the standards met or exceed the CAS. To accomplish this, we chose to adopt the CAS verbatim.

In order to reflect the changes in the new Colorado Academic Standards and report to parents their student’s progress, starting with the first trimester in 2011, our elementary standards-based report cards reflected those changes in the new content and how student progress is reported.

Report Card Guide - These guidelines are intended to assist parents in understanding the District’s elementary standards-based report card.

English
Spanish


 
Elementary PTO PowerPoint

 
Report Card Indicators by Trimester - Grade specific brochures (Kindergarten – 5) have been created to provide parents with an overview and explanation of what is being taught each trimester of the school year.

 
Kindergarten, 1st trimester English Spanish
First Grade, 1st trimester English Spanish
Second Grade, 1st trimester English Spanish
Third Grade, 1st trimester English Spanish
Fourth Grade, 1st trimester English Spanish
Fifth Grade, 1st trimester English Spanish
 
Kindergarten, 2nd trimester English Spanish
First Grade, 2nd trimester English Spanish
Second Grade, 2nd trimester English Spanish
Third Grade, 2nd trimester English Spanish
Fourth Grade, 2nd trimester English Spanish
Fifth Grade, 2nd trimester English Spanish
 
Kindergarten, 3rd trimester English Spanish
First Grade, 3rd trimester English Spanish
Second Grade, 3rd trimester English Spanish
Third Grade, 3rd trimester English Spanish
Fourth Grade, 3rd trimester English Spanish
Fifth Grade, 3rd trimester English Spanish


 
Report Card Samples

Kindergarten English Spanish
First Grade English Spanish
Second Grade English Spanish
Third Grade English Spanish
Fourth Grade English Spanish
Fifth Grade English Spanish


 
Report Card Dates - The following dates are for elementary report cards.

1st trimester begins August 16, 2012
1st trimester ends November 9, 2012
Report cards go home by December 5, 2012
 
2nd trimester begins November 12, 2012
2nd trimester ends February 22, 2013
Report cards go home by March 15, 2013
 
3rd trimester begins March 12, 2013
3rd trimester ends May 15, 2013
Report cards go home May 23, 2013
 


 
2013-2014 Grading Windows

 
FAQs

What are standards?

Colorado has adopted its own list of the skills that students should learn at each grade level from pre-kindergarten through high school. These standards set clear, high expectations for student achievement. Standards tell what students need to do in order to progress through school on grade level. Here are some examples:
• Fifth graders are expected to formulate, represent, and use algorithms to add and subtract fractions with flexibility, accuracy, and efficiency.
• Third graders should be able to implement the writing process successfully to plan, revise, and edit written work.
• Kindergarteners are expected to observe, explain, and predict natural phenomena governed by Newton's laws of motion, acknowledging the limitations of their application to very small or very fast objects.
Are districts required to adopt the state standards?

According to Colorado Revised Statute S 22-7-1013(b) “in revising its preschool through elementary and secondary education standards, each local education provider shall ensure that it adopts standards, at a minimum, in those subject matter areas that are included in the state preschool through elementary and secondary education standards, including but not limited to English language competency and visual arts and performing arts education.”
 
Thus each district is required to adopt standards that meet or exceed the state standards and develop a plan for revising curriculum and programs of instruction to ensure that each student will have the educational experiences needed to achieve the adopted academic standards.
How are standards-based report cards different from traditional report cards?

On many traditional report cards, students receive one grade for reading, one for math, one for science and so on. While this still happens on our standards-based report card, each of these subject areas is divided into a list of skills and knowledge that students are responsible for mastering. Students receive a separate mark for each learner expectation.
How can I help my student with the standards-based report card?

Standards-based report cards give you more detailed information about how your student is doing in each subject. You can use this information to help your child by taking advantage of the extra information. Choose a skill you're concerned about and ask the teacher how you can help your student with it at home. You can also ask the teacher what she/he can do to help your child at school.
What is the difference between this standards-based report card and earlier versions?

The basic format and the goal of the elementary report card have not changed. There are two basic changes with his report card. First, because of the adoption of the new Colorado Academic Standards content contained in the reported is different. Second, reporting is every trimester. A common complaint with older versions was that the new grades were based on year-end expectations and 3s and 4s were generally not achieved until the final marking period. Now, students will be graded using the full range of 1-4 EACH TRIMESTER based on performance indicators taught each trimester.
What is the purpose of the comment sections of the report card?

The grades given should not be the only form of communication between school and home. Other communication methods include conferences, newsletters, and portfolios. The comment section provides an avenue to expand the communication between teacher and parent.
What kinds of evidence should a teacher collect to support the grade they give to my child?

Teachers should use a combination of your student’s assignments, assessments, and communication with your child and observations to determine their performance reporting and grades. The evidence should provide a rationale for the rating given.
Why don't we see standards-based report cards in middle or high school?

Although we have rigorous standards for middle and high schools, there are many challenges to using a standards-based report card at these levels. One of the biggest concerns is that students need traditional grade-point averages and transcripts to be competitive in applying to college and to determine athletic eligibility. In addition, the large number of subjects students study in high school would make standards-based report cards unwieldy.
How are special education students graded?

1. Letter Grades: If a student is not going to be graded in the same manner, with the same expectations as general education students, then it must be noted in the IEP what the modifications and grading would be. Based upon that documentation, that is how the student will be graded. If it is not noted in the IEP, then the student is graded in the same manner as the general education students.
2. Standards: Grading according to the IEP is separate from Standards attainment. The Standards attainment should always reflect what the student actually attained. In other words, a student could be meeting just one of the math Learner Expectations (with a score of 1 or 2) and still have an A for a grade. The IEP for that student must reflect the grading parameters and reflect the standards that the student will be working toward and graded on.
3. All of this is agreed upon in the IEP staffing. The regular and special education teacher should collaborate on the entire process.
4. Modifications or exceptions to the grading scale may be identified as long as the notation of modifications or exceptions does not identify the student as having a disability or being in special education. These modifications or exceptions must be available to any student, not just those students with disabilities (including students performing above grade level). Example: An asterisk after the grade may denote that the student received modified grades or completed work at a lower grade level. However, the explanation of the asterisk on the report card may not indicate the student’s participation in special education.
Who should I contact if I have quetsions regarding my child’s report card?

The first contact should be your child’s teacher. If questions still persist please contact your building principal. Questions regarding the purpose and design of the report card should be directed to Kahle Charles, Director of Curriculum, at charles_kahle@svvsd.org or 303-702-7591.