Need Help w/Grading

What type of grading system they going to use report card time? Has this been discussed yet? You will want your grades in your book to reflect if he is progressing. When my PDD son was in 2nd grade they started out by using the S,N,I scale and it was based on his abilities not what the class was doing (was in a mainstream class). Once his skills improved enough they went to percentages like the rest of the class and school. He is in 4th grade now and has scattered skill levels (some grade level some not). In areas where he receives adopted ciriculm he receive a percentage score with the letters AC so that people know it is based on his skill level. Is this an option in your school?

I have the ability to use letter grades, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, Pass/Fail, whatever. I would be happy using the IEP as documentation of his progress since I’m updating that every 4 weeks. We are not allowed to flag grades on the report card since that can be deemed discriminatory to the student. We can’t even make the comment that the curriculum is modified.
Carrie

Don’t grade him on performance but on other criteria. The parents should understand the output of an autistic child is measured in small increments. This is a sped kid so put the grading modifications in the IEP and then you are legal to do what you need to do.

Another idea would be to use the IEP baseline on the goals and base performance on that. After all, that’s what we are suppose to be doing anyway. This way you could keep all measures of performance consistent. Or you could use the psy eval as the starting point and pre/post test.

That is what I was saying our school does. My son received the Woodcock Reading Mastery test, the key math test, and a language test, based on these results his IEP goals were written (in addition to the testing they looked at classwork samples). His math goals are based on the fact he is on grade level for math, so his math goals are commenserate with grade level work. His reading skills on the other hand still show delay of 1 1/2 years and his reading goal is based on his current level. I am sure since this child is 12 that his parents know that things come a bit more slowly. A reasonable parent would know that you can not go from 1st grade levet to 6th grade (quessing since he is 12)overnight. I know that my 10 year old sons progress is slower then his peers but I DO expect him to make progress. This progress does not come by the schools work alone the parents must be part of the team if you want the child to succeede. Do you know what type of training the parents have received? Do you know their educational backround? Do they seem easy to work with. If they have the ability and are willing participants you can suggest some work to be done at home. With my own son who falls on the spectrum we have found that Audioblox and Great Leaps have been a tremedous help. He is now learning to sound out words and his reading skills have really grown. As a parent I found both the Adioblox and the Great Leaps very easy to work with. Other parents on the board have had success with other programs, it might be worth checking out what they have to say. Thanks so much for caring about your students.

I agree. Giving letter grades doesn’t make sense. Would your administration and his parents support you in this?

If you must, though, does this child do his work well with you?

Or ask yourself this - what’s the point in giving him low grades?