Resource Student Grades

Shanna,

If the resource teacher pulls the child for the reading block and is the primary teacher of that subject then she should provide the grade for the report card. If the resouce teacher just tutors the subject, then the regular teacher provides the grade with input from the resource teacher. I hope they changed those report cards where they made the RS designation because that is very illegal as you noted.

Janis

1.)Teachers told me that they do not know what grades to give the students because they were in the resource room with me during a reading or writing assignment. (I am almost certain that these are the same teachers that believe reading or writing occurs ONLY between the times of 8:45-9:45?) :?

Teachers can see grades in a very concrete way. Rather than seeing grades as grading a child’s overall skill level, they ‘calculate’ grades based on assignments given. So if a child is out for the assignments, they’re lost as to how to give a grade.

What’s clear is that your reg. ed teachers prefer not to give RS students grades. I’d say gently we sometimes need to be careful what we wish for. Many Rs teachers complain that reg. ed teachers grade their students too hard.

What’s your greatest concern? That your students aren’t learning when in the reg. classroom? Are that their learning isn’t being judged and graded?
Are the parents complaining or the principal?

I have to say I’d like to see grades go the way of the horse and buggy as I think grades are as outdated as horses and buggies. I’d be delighted if no teachers gave my students grades and I was free to write up evaluative reports on the growth or lack of growth in my students’ skills myself. Too many cooks spoil the broth they used to say and that’s what I say about grades. Teachers all have their own way of giving them and it can result in a very confused picture of a student for that student and their parents.

2.)Several teachers did give RS students any grades but instead wrote the initials “RS” next to the reserved spot for an academic area on the report card. I just about flipped when I saw this. I had to explain to the teacher that it was illegal to do this and asked why didn’t he have grades for his students. He told me, “Well, you give them a report card and you teach them reading, math and writing. I did not think I had to gives them grades too.”

I asked my principal and director of special education if there were any district standards or suggestions that I could give these teachers to help them when giving grades. Before I could get answers the school year ended. I am positive that this situation has not “cleared” up over summer. J

I want to be an advocate for my students but also want to be prepared and have some info. Does anyone have any suggestions, recommendations of books or other resources that I could use to prepare myself for the upcoming year?

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP!!!!!! :)[/quote]

Janis and Sara-
Thank you for replying to my post and for your insights. I have learned about many new strategies and programs on this bulletin board. This year going back to school is not as scary as it has been in the past. With my newly acquired strategies and programs, I am excited to see how my students will grow.

Sara-
“What’s your greatest concern? That your students aren’t learning when in the reg. classroom? Are that their learning isn’t being judged and graded?
Are the parents complaining or the principal?”

So far there hasn’t been parent complaints. Some of my student’s parents are really on top of things. But a lot of the parents have problems with drugs and alcohol, are always working and never home, have recently moved from Mexico and speak Spanish. I try to educate and keep parents informed about issues in SPED. But some of the parents appear not to understand or appear not to care.

My principal isn’t complaining. The general education teachers are. They want to know what to do and how to do it when it comes to grading.

I guess my greatest concern is the effects of the letter grades on the report card. I have a lot of students who are working as hard as they can (sometimes 2 years below grade level) and their classroom teachers cannot see their hard work. The students are frustrated with the “F’s”; the teacher says he deserves the “F.” I am in the middle advocating for the student and trying to support the classroom teacher.

I agree with what you said about grading. I too would rather write evaluative reports on the growth or lack of growth in my students’ skills.
Maybe some day our school will go to that?

Shanna,

An “F” on the report card of a child with an IEP denotes a failure on the part of the staff, not the student. If the child (other than for refusing to try) makes a failing grade, then the IEP needs adjustment. Either the child is not appropriate for the class (as in needs more remediation first), or else the accommodations are not effective and need adjustment. It sounds like the regular ed. teachers do not understand thier responsibility. They can’t just fail these kids. They need to adapt the instruction to where the kids can be successful. If they can’t, the kids need to have the class with a special ed. teacher.

Janis

[
My principal isn’t complaining. The general education teachers are. They want to know what to do and how to do it when it comes to grading.

I guess my greatest concern is the effects of the letter grades on the report card.

In that case, if a gen. ed. teacher prefers NOT to give a grade, let them not give one.

But in the case of the Fs they’re handing out, does your principal play any leadership role in the school? Many do not but if he/she does, there could stand to be some policy around spec. ed. students and grading. Of course some might fail when their work is compared to red. ed. students. As Janis is saying, the point of an IEP is to level the playing field and make them able to succeed.

I find that’s often almost impossible to do in some classes. How can they be ‘included’ if their entire curriculum is different? In a Language Arts class, for example, they can’t keep up with the reading assigned and if they’re not reading the same books, how can they be included?

What is being graded exactly? Is their improvement being graded? Or is it just their performance as compared to other students? In most classrooms, class are derived by comparing students to each other. The best student(s) in the room get As and everyone else falls into line behind them. The best students set the pace and the grading expectations of the teacher. “Johnny did this and you only did this…” And there are mostly always a few Johnnys who do so well the teacher feels the curriculum is justified for everyone. Teachers are fond of seeing their best students as the ones who work the hardest but it’s as often true the best students are those with prisitine learning styles and no learning differences.

Have you looked at Mel Levine’s book Educational Care? I think you might find it useful.

Good luck.