Communicate
Why this category is important to me:
Communicate means to communicate progress.
It is important to give clear and concise feedback to students and their parents.
Why it’s important to learning
First, the student needs to know what they should be practicing. What skills do they need more time to hone. I really like the specificity in the unit based grade reports that every student receives at the end of the unit. More importantly though is the constant feedback students are receiving from the teachers as they practice the skills during the unit. Students always know exactly what they need to work on.
Second, a standards based report card gives parents specific information so they can better help their son/daughter reach their fullest potential. Instead of a grade that says B+, parents will receive a detailed report that we show the specific skills their child exceeded the standard on and what they need to work on specifically to earn the A.
Hopefully, it keeps everyone in a positive feedback loop.