BY MATT HERSH

As the school year comes to a close and students continue to work hard towards good grades, teachers are calculating percentages and filling out report cards. But the amount of information taken home on the report cards differers widely throughout the district.

At the elementary school level, grading policies in Salem are broken up into two groups based on age.

Unlike the rest of the students in the school district, those in grades 1 and 2 do not receive letter grades. Rather, they receive a continuum report informing parents of the progress their child is making on a variety of skills.

The report lists dozens of math, literacy, and social-emotional skills students are expected to learn throughout the grade levels. Each quarter, teachers indicate the student’s progress by shading in boxes marked “beginning”, “developing” and “secure.”

Teachers assess each student’s progress based on observation, interviews, and samples of work and as the year continues, parents can see how far their child has come on each skill.

There is no specific requirement that must be met for students to pass these two grade levels. Instead, a team of educators individually reviews students who have not performed well and makes a decision.

In addition to academic progress, teachers assess each child’s emotional maturity based on characteristics like self-control, responsibility management, cooperation, and listening.

“This is what your student knows and should be able to do,” said Assistant Superintendent Marilyn Woodside.

Currently, students in grades 3 through 5 receive a traditional A through F letter grade and a numerical grade from 1 to 3 for effort level with a one indicating outstanding performance.

Unlike upper grade levels, elementary school letter grades are not based on a numerical percentage. Instead, a teacher judges what grade the student should receive based on their performance.

For each subject, the report card also lists five work habits – responsibility, independence, neatness, following directions, and behavior – which each receive a numerical grade from 1 to 4 as well.

However, the district recently approved a revision of the upper-elementary report cards which will go into effect during the 2007-08 school year, Woodside said.

The updated report cards will more closely resemble those for grades 1 and 2, featuring a list of skills students should be mastering. A letter grade for each subject will still be given, but a teacher will also place an X following skills where a student needs improvement.

Woodside said the changes were a necessary update to a grading system that remained the same for more than 30 years.

“We felt far too little information was being given,” she said.

While there is no formal honor roll at the elementary school level, all six of the district’s schools recognize outstanding performance during end of the year assemblies.

“I think it is important to recognize everyone who does a good job,” School Board member Peter Morgan said about the assemblies. “It encourages more hard work.”

Middle, high school grades

Salem’s grading system become less complicated as students enter the middle and high school levels.

At Woodbury Middle School, students receive a letter grade and brief comments about their performance each
quarter. The letter grades are based on numerical percentages except in grade 6, where teachers assign grades based on their own assessment of performance.

For grades 7 and 8, the letter grades are determined by a numerical percentage out of 100 for each subject. To receive an A, a 90 or better is required. To receive a B, students must score between 80 and 89 percent. A C is given for 70 to 79 percent. A D falls between 60 and 69 percent. Anything below a 60 is an F. Pluses and minuses are also included based on the earned percentages.

At Woodbury, students earn honors recognition for achieving a B-minus-or-better average and high honors for an A- or better. The school also selects one Teenager of the Month, available to seventh- and eighth-grade students who apply for the award.

Due to the number of students per teacher at Salem High School, the grading system becomes even less specific, with each student receiving a letter grade based on the same percentages as Woodbury. Following the letter grade, teachers can also provide brief optional comments about each student.

The honor roll system at Salem High School works the same way Woodbury’s does but requires a solid B instead of a B-minus.

Woodside, who has worked with the Salem School District for the past three years, said the town’s grading policies are similar to others nationwide if not slightly ahead of the curve.

While working on drafting the new elementary school report cards, Woodside and a team of 11 other administrators studied what other towns are doing and found that most are still using a traditional letter grade system.

With Salem’s emphasis on making their report cards more specific, Woodside said the town is keeping up with an increasing trend. In the future, more districts will likely focus on more comprehensive grading policies, she said.