About Standards-Based Grading
In providing an uncommon education for all, the Pea Ridge School District aims to provide a personalized learning experience for every student. We are confident that the standards-based reporting system will meet the highest standards for accurately communicating student academic progress. This reporting style allows the district to separately measure the individual student’s achievement based on content standards with end of the year expectations and the child’s social development and work habits. The Pea Ridge Public School system values the partnership between home and school that supports the successful development of each child. Ongoing communication between teachers and parents is essential, and the standards-based reporting system is another tool to promote communication.
Suggestions for Parents/Children at Home
- Keep communication open by asking your child about their day at school.
- Promote daily reading.
- Listen and comment on their answers.
- Be aware of their ongoing work and progress or concerns.
- Encourage your child’s natural curiosity.
- Maintain open and on-going conversations with your child’s teacher to understand your child’s progress.
- Encourage responsibility and organizational habits with homework routines, which can help build strategies that will enable them to be independent learners.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should the expectations for my child be?
Remembering that every child learns differently, the goal for students is to independently understand and apply grade level material, which indicates a Ready level.
Can a student perform at a (R) Ready level during one grading period and then recieve a (C)
Close or (NS) Needs Support level in subsequent grading periods?
The expectations change from one grading period to another as the year progresses. This may result in very different levels of proficiency. A student could receive a Ready level in the first grading period, and a Close or Needs Support level in the subsequent grading periods.
Some areas of my child’s report card were not evaluated this grading period and the report card shows blank boxes. Why wasn’t this standard/s evaluated?
Each standard varies in difficulty. Some standards will be taught each grading period while others will be assessed at different times. Throughout the year all standards for the grade level will be addressed.
Benefits of Standards-Based Grading
Measure what a student should know and be able to do by the end of each grade in each subject area.
Identify the concepts and skills in each subject area based on these standards.
Indicate what skills students have mastered, as well as their strengths and areas for growth.
Progress will be reported for each of the grade level standards identified rather than a single grade in each subject area.
Aligns curriculum with Arkansas State Standards, along with formative and summative assessments which measure student learning.
Students, parents, and teachers work together toward shared goals to ensure that students make progress each year.
Students will know exactly what is expected to master goals for a particular subject area and parents will be better able to support their child’s learning at home.
All K-5 teachers across the District will have the same expectations and common understandings about learning targets at each grade level and be able to build student knowledge based on student mastery of the previous year’s grade-level goals.
Pea Ridge High School is located at:
TF: 1-800-451-1343
Fax: 1-479-431-6093
Pea Ridge School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin or disability in any of its policies, practices or procedures.