Jane M. Bailey – författare

Teachers, parents, students, administrators, and community members all agree that we need better grading and reporting systems. Often, these systems are inadequate because they are part of a tradition that can go unexamined and unquestioned for years. Here is the first serious look at the issue, written to provide all those involved — especially teachers — with a coherent and thoughtful framework. Guskey and Bailey offer four pillars of successful grading and reporting systems: Communication is the primary goal of grading and reportingGrading and reporting are integral parts of the instructional processGood reporting is based on good evidenceCreating change in grading and reporting requires creating a multi-faceted reporting systemWritten to help readers develop a deeper and more reflective understanding of the various aspects of the subject, Thomas Guskey and Jane Bailey′s work brings organization and clarity to a murky and disagreement-filled topic.Here is a practical and essential guide for teachers, administrators or anyone concerned with understanding and implementing best practices in grading and reporting systems.

Students and parents benefit from this powerful communication tool!

Jane Bailey and Thomas Guskey, leaders in the field of student assessment, address a nagging issue for both beginning and veteran teachers—how to effectively communicate to parents the learning progress of their children. Every teacher knows the sinking feeling of facing a sea of anxious parents with limited time for in-depth discussion.

Now there is a way for students to take responsibility in communicating their progress and for parents to get the satisfaction they deserve. In this new approach, the teacher serves as facilitator as students lead their parents through a discussion of their work. An important benefit in this innovation—students are required to evaluate and reflect upon their work!

Highlights of Implementing Student-Led Conferences include:

Overview and philosophy of student-led conferences Roles and responsibilities of participants What an effective model looks like How to prepare, organize, and evaluate for maximum effectiveness Anticipating and handling unique situations The role of student-led conferences in authentic assessment and reporting

A rich resource section includes everything you need to prepare, conduct, and evaluate successful student-led conferences—sample conference announcements and formats, portfolio planners, reproducible letters, parent and student response forms, teacher surveys, and much more!

This is an essential resource for teachers and administrators at every school level to maximize time, improve communication with parents, and encourage student self-reliance.

"Guskey and Bailey offer realistic solutions to improving how educators communicate a student′s academic progress to all stakeholders. Their work provides a faculty with the research, step-by-step guidelines, and reporting templates to begin the dialogue to develop a standards-based report card. Without a doubt, this work is a model for schools that want to improve their system of grading and reporting. It certainly has transformed ours!"—Jeffrey Erickson, Assistant PrincipalMinnetonka High School, MNDevelop standards-based report cards that are meaningful to students, parents, and educators!Although schools have moved toward standards-based curriculum and instruction, grading practices and reporting systems have remained largely unchanged. Helping school leaders gain support for transitioning from traditional to standards-based report cards, this book guides educators in aligning assessment and reporting practices with standards-based education and providing more detailed reports of children′s learning and achievement.A standards-based report card breaks down each subject area into specific elements of learning to offer parents and educators a more thorough description of each child′s progress toward proficiency. This accessible volume:Provides a clear framework for developing standards-based report cardsShows how to communicate with parents, students, and other stakeholders about changesIllustrates how to achieve grading consistency without increasing teachers′ workloads or violating their professional autonomyFilled with examples of standards-based report cards that can be adapted to a school′s needs, this practical resource shows district and school administrators how to establish reporting practices that facilitate learning.