Each year, we provide report cards in January and June. The report card system is designed to provide students, parents, and teachers information on how students are performing as they progress through the curriculum. This information is intended to help you better understand what your child’s report card means. It is important to recognize the difficult time we are in as an educational system. The information on the report card may look different from previous years due to disruptions in learning.

Grade marks

You will find an explanation of what each of the grade marks mean at the bottom of the report card. Teachers do not teach all Standards at once, so they place a “/” in the strands that have not yet been taught. Parents will see grades in these slashed areas in the June report card.

Science

Since 2019-2020, Lake Washington elementary schools have been working hard to transition to the Washington State Science and Learning Standards (WSSLS), also known as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This transition began with learning about the standards, implementing a new standards-aligned curriculum, aligning instruction to the standards, and report cards to reflect these changes.

For the January reporting period, the report card will reflect the original strands. Teachers will report on the growth of students' skills in the Science and Engineering Practices, though will not formally assess these content areas, although comments may be included. For the content strands (Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth and Space Science), teachers will use a plus (+) on the reporting strands that were taught during the reporting period and a slash (/) for those strands that were not taught.
 
In June, report cards will reflect the WSSLS, which were developed to promote student engagement in scientific and engineering practices (skills) and apply crosscutting concepts (themes) to deepen student understanding of core ideas (content) of science. New report card strands will be:

• Life Science Core Ideas
• Physical Science Core Ideas
• Earth and Space Science Core Ideas
• Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts

Interdisciplinary skills and attributes

These are items like, “participates in class discussions” and “respects others.”  These skills and attributes come from the LWSD Student Profile and are critical in preparing every student for future success in college and in life.

Trend grading

Teachers collect a variety of scores on in-class tests, assignments, and quizzes. Each score is then entered into an electronic grade book (Skyward) which shows trends of growth for each Standard. Trends are calculated using a formula that tracks progress over time. These trends run for the entire school year so we have a precise understanding of how your child is performing on each Standard at all times. At report card time, we take a “snapshot” of how your child is performing.  

Level "1" and "2" scores

Scores on the first report card of the year reflect learning on new grade level Standards so parents may see some “1’s” and “2’s” on their child’s report card. A score of “1” reflects that a student is not at standard.  A score of “2” reflects that a student is making progress or “approaching” Standard. It is very important that parents do not equate a “1” or “2” with an “F” on an A-F letter grade scoring scale. 

Students with special needs are graded, too

Students involved in a special education or Multilingual (ML) program will still be graded in relationship to the expected standards for the grade level. If the student's primary instruction in a content area is delivered by specialists or directed by the child's IEP, a note will be placed in the grading area stating, "see attached report." Specialists will generate a goal report related to the child's IEP or ML plan.

If a student is working on an IEP goal within the regular classroom, the teacher may use the "P" letter grade to inform the parent that the child is passing or making progress on IEP goals. If the child is not progressing, the teacher may use the "NP" to indicate that the child is not passing or making progress on their IEP goals.