Report Cards

In recent years, consumers, professional organizations, government officials, and third-party payers have become increasingly concerned about how to assess the quality of the services provided by organizations in both the private and the public sectors. One new approach is the organizational report card, which compares the performance of organizations such as public schools, colleges, hospitals, and HMOs. This book offers the first comprehensive study of such instruments. It discusses the circumstances under which they are desirable alternatives to other policy instruments, such as regulation; how they should be designed; who is likely to use them and for what purpose; and what role, if any, government should have in their creation. Informed by cases drawn from education, health, and other policy areas, this book develops a conceptual framework for analyzing these issues. It explores the tradeoffs in measuring performance, the methods of communicating results effectively to mass and elite audiences, and the ways in which organizations respond to the data gathered.

Providing a clear framework, this volume helps school leaders align assessment and reporting practices with standards-based education and develop more detailed reports of children's learning and progress.

To better serve the whole child, look at the whole report card. Although parents and teachers spend more time in conferences talking about behavior than they do about rubrics and test scores, too many teachers are still guessing when it comes to using outdated behavior ratings and comments to describe the whole child. With this book, you’ll take report cards to the next level, integrating social-emotional learning and character development into any grading system. Resources include Guided exercises for analyzing existing report cards Suggested report card designs Tips on improving teacher-parent communication Case studies Testimonials from teachers and students

Nora Rose Rowley is a genius, but don't tell anyone. Nora's managed to make it to the fifth grade without anyone figuring out that she's not just an ordinary kid, and she wants to keep it that way. But then Nora gets fed up with the importance everyone attaches to test scores and grades, and she purposely brings home a terrible report card just to prove a point. Suddenly the attention she's successfully avoided all her life is focused on her, and her secret is out. And that's when things start to get really complicated....

"This book tells the story of American education by examining this unique element of student life. The author shows the evolution of how teachers, students, parents, and administrators responded to report cards. Report cards, he shows, were more than just a means by which a school documented each student's deportment, academic standing, and attendance. They were a tool of control, a microcosm for the changing power dynamics between teachers, parents, and students"--

Thoughtful and constructive report card comments can improve parent-teacher communication and student performance. Each book features hundreds of ready-to-use comments in a variety of specific areas in academic performance and personal development. General messages are also included, as well as a robust list of helpful words and phrases.