School officials in Montgomery County are trying to have all elementary school teachers eventually able to generate their grades electronically.
The change, although seemingly minor, means the resulting report cards would be more parent-friendly.
This school year, two more schools — in addition to 17 pilot schools from last year — will try out the system, with the hopes of all first- and second-grade classes switching over by 2007.
According to Betsy Brown, Montgomery County Schools’ director of curriculum and instruction, students still will receive a paper report card, but it’s a different version than the ones non-trial schools distribute.
“There’s more detail about what the kids are learning in each of their subjects,” Brown said Monday. “It really communicates more clearly about a student’s achievement.”
Instructors at participating schools do all evaluations online.
“We had principals who moved schools and wanted to bring the programs with them,” she said. “We’re taking that as a good sign.”
Going into this school year, administrators also have provided more clarification for secondary schools’ grading policies, which were originally adopted last year.
Among the policies, they spelled out that homework may only account for up to 10 percent of the marking period grade and that a teacher cannot assign a grade lower than 50 percent to an assignment. Not working on an assignment, however, amounts to a zero.
For more information
Parents curious about specific district rules on grading and reporting can go to montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/grading.
