[rosebud]

How do you grade reading? I have a second grader who is at a level f when she should be j. Report cards are due Friday. She is working soooooooooo hard to improve her reading skills. We grade by G S and N. Effort/potenital vs. actually level of accomplishment????? Help>

[Fairy Queen]

Not knowing what the G, S, and N stand for I believe I would give her the middle grade. She is obviously not on grade level but is not stagnating so a satisfactory grade might be the best option. Do you have the option to add comments to the report card? I would mention the grade and how she has improved so the parent(s) can see there has been improvement. Communication is the best when it comes to grades. Unfortunately we live in a society where grades mean everything and progress means very little on those report cards. So I would make sure to add a note and praise the student for progress and give encouragement to both the parent and child.

[TeaPro]

I agree with the previous poster. She is not reading at the grade level standard and her grade should reflect this. I don't know what the grade letters stand for, but the student is reading at a first grade level. You can give her recognition for her effort to improve, though. Maybe the family will see the low grade and practice more at home.

[Tigercat]

I think it is important to grade her where she is. If she is working below grade level, her grade should show this.

I had a situation this year in which one of my students is making low 70's in math. (We give number grades) Last year, she made 91 in math. The mother questioned me in a very respectful manner regarding the difference in the grades. Turns out. . . last year, the teacher thought the little girl was so sweet and tried so hard, she helped her a lot, let her re-do work for a higher grade, etc. She is NOT an A student at all. I help her, also, but I don't change the grades. Not trying to be tough, I just feel it misleads the parents if it is done a lot.

Fortunately, the mother and I are working together to help her daughter catch up in math and work on skills she in which she lacks. Don't know if this story helps or not. . ..

[multigrade]

I had almost the exact same situation last year. I replaced a teacher in late Oct. and her class was a mess. A child that was a C/D/F! student was receiving A's. I'm glad your student's parent understands. My student's father thought I was the worst teacher in the county and that the child REALLY was a great student. I was messing him up. ???

I made a comment that making C's isn't bad if that's the best you can do. All we can do is our best and we're all good at different things. This student said, "My Dad doesn't want me to be a C student." I almost cried.

[kevswife]

I think you should consider what is going to be best for this student. Right now, your student is at least six months behind in reading. (Level F is equivalent to 1.6 or 1.7 and Level J is equivalent to 2.3) While she is working very hard, be honest about her grade. If it isn't up to par, it isn't up to par. She came to you very weak and she is still very weak. Her grade should reflect that.

I know you feel compassion for her. I have a little girl who is at the same level as yours. I hate to see my student receive the low grades too.