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How to Effectively Use Report Cards

Documentation

By: Dee Claire

Many grades should be recorded for students to give you as the professional, a true picture of the students. A student is better at some things than others. Give them a chance and get a broad picture. Your job is not to trick them, but to evaluate what a child truly knows. Assess the way that you teach. If your expectations are to have students write essays, make sure you have taught those writing skills. If you use multiple-choice questions, make sure they have experienced this type of testing. Your purpose for testing is to make sure your students have mastered concepts. You may find that you need to reteach or review part of a lesson. Another aspect of documentation is recording your observations. Does the student seem to do poorly on written tests but does well orally? Keep a journal on your students. These observations can reveal needs that students have and address them in a timely manner. Document parent-teacher conferences, phone calls to parents, notes that you have sent home and kept on file.

Spend time with your students one-on-one. As students are completing a paper independently, take a few minutes to sit and ask questions and find out how this child is learning. While children are doing silent reading, sit and listen to them. You can listen to oral presentations to evaluate individuals. How can we give a true grade if we don t know the whole child?

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