4 January, 2013
Included in the January 7th grade reports at Hopkinton High, is a new assessment that will rate students in three areas: Effort and Work Ethic, Engagement in Learning and Awareness of Self and Others. Students will receive a score of 1-4 in each category, and the scores relate to their performance on a new rubric developed by a group of teachers last year that will assess students on the behaviors and dispositions related to their academic work.
According to Interim High School Principal Evan Bishop, the purpose of the Classroom Citizenship Rubric is to give students feedback on factors related to classroom performance that may not be measured in a course grade, but have a substantial impact on their learning.
“These factors are also directly tied to our school-wide civic and social expectations for students, which we are required to measure and report out on for our school’s accreditation process,” said Bishop in the high school’s January newsletter.
The new ratings can be viewed via iPass under a new menu on the left hand side of the screen entitled “competencies”. Students will receive scores for each course that they take in each of the three areas, Effort and Work Ethic, Engagement in Learning and Awareness of Self and Others in January, and again in the May grading report. For now, the scores will not be part of their high school transcripts, but may be included on transcripts in the future if the high school moves to a more standards-based grading system.
“The score are formative in nature,“ said Bishop, “and meant to provide feedback to both students and parents about how they are doing in each course related to the three areas on the rubric. Our hope is that this additional information will help students to identify ways in which they can improve their classroom performance.
