Do Standard Based Report Cards Make the Grade in East Haddam?

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative is a state-led effort that "establishes a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through grade 12 in English language arts and mathematics." It is a voluntary program that states can choose to adopt or not. Connecticut is one such state that has chosen to adopt the standards.

Rather than a traditional letter grading system of A, B, C, D, the standard focusses on a number system of 1-4 that does not correlate with the traditional letter-based grading system.

The standard based report card (SBRC), instead, evaluates the progression towards learning the curriculum:
1=Emerging
2=Progressing toward standard
3=Meeting standard
4=Exceeding standard

The standards are designed, according to the CCSS, to "ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter credit bearing entry courses in two or four year college programs or enter the workforce. The standards are clear and concise to ensure that parents, teachers, and students have a clear understanding of the expectations in reading, writing, speaking and listening, language and mathematics in school."

Recently, a reader stated on the Patch Opinion Board that the "SBRC are confusing for students and parents at the beginning. Once the general concept is understood there is still considerable confusion by parents and students on many of the attributes of the system."

What are your thoughts? Do you think the system is confusing? Tell us in the comments below.

Read about the CT Common Core State Standards here.