Bristol Twp Updating Report Cards

From the BCCT.

District to make improvements to secondary students’ report cards
The revisions for secondary students could take effect next school year.
By JOAN HELLYER

Bristol Township secondary students may soon take home clearer, concise and more upbeat report cards, according to district officials.

The school board is considering whether to make numerous changes to the current secondary report card. The changes would take effect in 2009-10, district officials said.

At the urging of Bristol Township teachers, district staff worked on the proposed changes for about a year to create “a more positive line of communication with parents about the students,” Assistant Superintendent Parthenia Moore said. The changes include:

The student’s school will be more readily identifiable. Right now all four of the district’s secondary schools are listed on every report card with no clear indicator of which school a student attends.

The demographic information of the student and his or her parents will be clearly visible at the top of the report card. Currently, the student’s name is buried between grade descriptions and achievement information.

The district will move from listing just letter grades to also showing students’ numerical grades in an effort to be more precise with grade point averages and class ranking, Moore said.

Comments about student achievement listed on the evaluation will be positive in nature compared to the generally negative comments on the existing report cards, the assistant superintendent said.

Students attendance will be tracked not only on a daily basis but also for each individual class he or she is scheduled to attend.

Internet links will be included for parents to access the state standards for which their child is being evaluated.

The proposed changes were listed on the agenda reviewed by the board during its planning session Monday night. The board is expected to decide during its Oct. 20 meeting whether to move forward with the suggested changes.