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SRSD rolls out new report cards

Oct 2, 2011 | 8:29 AM

Some parents will see a change when it comes to report cards this school year.

The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division (SRSD) is rolling out new report cards in seven of its kindergarten to Grade 8 schools.

“Instead of a list of outcomes that are directly related to the curriculum, the outcomes will be kind of distilled into four or five or maybe six general areas and those will be reported on, on the report card,” said Robert Bratvold, director of education for the SRSD.

The content will be similar to what currently appears on report cards, but the way it is reported will be different. Using English language arts as an example, they will now be reporting on reading, writing, responding, viewing and representing instead of in 10 or 15 different categories.

“Essentially the change is a response to the revised curricula,” he said.

“We can no longer report on old objectives when the curricula is grouped into outcomes.”

The new report card will have two categories, achievement and character. Bratvold described character as a child’s development, work habits, citizenship and confidence.

The school division is expecting some kind of response from parents, but are not sure what type of feedback they will receive.

“If we didn’t get feedback, (it) means we’re not reaching parents,” he said, explaining he anticipates some being overwhelmed, while others will like the new layout.

Feedback is the main reason SRSD is only using seven pilot schools – Canwood Community School, Debden School, Vickers School, John Diefenbaker School, Vincent Massey School, Wild Rose School and West View Community School. They want to streamline it before it is used as the new system.

“There’s lots of things go in the background that make sure the piece of paper has the correct information on it in a manageable format,” he said.

While report cards are just one of many tools the school division uses to relay information to parents — in recent years there has been more emphasis one using as many tools as possible such as interim reports and notes sent home — he said it is still an important tool.

He encouraged parents to discuss the results with their child, “it shouldn’t be a surprise to the kid when they bring that report card home.”

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