How to Change up Report Cards

Published: Tue, 01/15/19

Report Card Grades: Laws, and Examples, and Advocacy, Oh My!

Did you know there's nothing in IDEA about grading students with disabilities? Do you know which laws do pertain to grading children with disabilities?

That's one of the things that we talked about in this episode, which is our Part 2 show about report card grades. Part 1 was last week: How to Get Meaningful Grades on Report Cards. Here's the link for Part 1.

In Part 2 we discussed:

* which laws have an impact on determining grades
* examples of grade adaptations
* pros and cons of grade adaptations
* advocacy strategies

Catch the replay. Click here.
When you're on the go, listen to the podcast. Click here.

Check out these Key Take-Aways by going to the specific time stamp in the video, or on the podcast.

* Laws that pertain to grading students with disabilities 4:47

* Office of Civil Rights: what can be noted on report cards and

transcripts about your child's disability 8:34

* How to find out what your state dept. of ed says about

grading students with disabilities 10:36

* What about school district policy on grading 12:06

* The role of the IEP team with grading 13:45

* What about students that have accommodations and/or

modifications 18:42

* Grade adaptation: Prioritize content and assignments 23:09

* Grade adaptation: Base part of grade on process 24:49

* Grade adaptation: Add information from collected work 25:58

* Student led conferences 27:26

* Pros and cons of grade adaptations 28:22

* Advocacy steps to take 29:24

* More Universal Design for Learning, less adaptations 29:37

Here are some quotes from the recent The Art of Advocacy show.

Did you know there is nothing in the IDEA law or regulations about grading students with disabilities?
Charmaine Thaner

The one-dimensional character of grades does not measure the multidimensional character of students.
THNK Effective Leadership

Schools must provide students with disabilities report cards that are just as informative and effective as report cards provided to students without disabilities.

Charmaine Thaner

Start that conversation with your child's teacher – what's going to be the most meaningful way for you to get information about your child's achievement.

Charmaine Thaner

Report cards can indicate your child is receiving special education services because report cards are only shared with student and parents.

Charmaine Thaner

Transcripts can not indicate your child is receiving special education services because transcripts can be shared with colleges and employers.
Charmaine Thaner

Accommodations don't change the level that we're expecting students to achieve. Modifications change what the student is learning.

Charmaine Thaner

If it doesn't make sense what you're hearing from others, keep talking to more people.

Charmaine Thaner

When we just pick a few things that we're going to grade kids on, we might be lowering our expectations and not understanding that they really could be accountable for more.

Charmaine Thaner

It's great to learn new things, but if we don't do something with what we've just learned, it doesn't help our kids.

Charmaine Thaner

Here are some selected resources about grading students with disabilities.

Office of Civil Rights guidance - report cards and transcripts Click here.

Grading Exceptional And Struggling Learners by Lee Ann Jung and Thomas R. Guskey Click here.

An adapted grading rubric Click here.

Strategies for Advocates Click here.

My channel on YouTube: Universal Design for Learning video playlist Click here.

We have a lot of goodness coming your way!

Thurs. Jan. 17th: Sarah Davis, advocate extraordinaire from the Washington D.C. metro area. Topic: Failings/difficulties With Current Dispute Resolution Options.

We'll be discussing and taking questions about:
– types of dispute resolution

– success rates of different dispute resolution options

– systemic shortcomings of dispute resolution options

– parent advocacy responsibility

• Thurs. Jan. 24th: Kathie Snow, author of Disability is Natural and international speaker. Topic: Moving Beyond The Status Quo.

• Thurs. Jan. 31st: Courtney Hansen, blogs about special education at inclusionevolution.com and is an advocate in the state of Washington. Topic: Creating Change Through Legislation.

• Thurs. Feb. 7th: Marcie Lipsitt, is a Michigan-based advocate and founder of the Michigan Alliance for Special Education. Topic: Filing Office of Civil Rights complaints.

Our live shows are at Noon Mtn. Time, 2pm ET, 1pm CT, 11am PT.
We’ll be live at www.facebook.com/VisionsandVoicesTogether.
The replays will also be available.

Put these shows in your phone calendar now! Need a reminder? We've

got you covered. Just click here and my IEPBot will send you a friendly reminder.

See you soon!

We'll be on at Noon Mtn. Time, 2pm ET, 1pm CT, 11am PT

www.facebook.com/VisionsandVoicesTogether

P.S. Are you looking for gifts with INCLUSION messages for your child, yourself, or best friends? You are in luck! Checkout the Inclusion T-Shirts by Charmaine Thaner. Click here.

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