Report cards get specific in Somers

By NANCY KIMBALL

The Daily Inter Lake

Parents across the valley are beginning to see a different style of report card.

At Somers Middle School, the change came this year. It finally catches up to the way instruction has been carried out for some time.

The Somers report card lists the specific subjects that students need to master - in eighth grade, it's English/language arts, math, science, social studies, health, computer technology, art and keyboarding.

The old report cards simply listed a letter grade for each subject area. It gave little information on how well a student was doing in measuring up to standards they will be held accountable for under the No Child Left Behind law.

Administrators knew it was time for a change in reporting. They knew, too, they needed to ease into it so parents could understand that the cards simply are a more accurate reflection of the work their children are doing.

So, for the first two quarters this year the descriptions changed but the letter grades stayed in place.

Number grades - from 4 through 0 - will appear on the third-quarter reports.

They equate to advanced (4), proficient (3), nearing proficiency (2), not proficient (1) and no attempt (0). Ironically, the word "proficient" has proven to be a stumbling block.

"Parents hear it as 'sufficient,'" Principal Lori Schieffer said. "They think 'mediocre,' and it is really much more."

Even though the report cards look different, instruction has not changed.

"We've got to have kids become proficient in knowledge and skills," Somers Superintendent Teri Wing said, "not just be teaching the content."

To get there, Somers teachers have been using what's called standards-based teaching and standards-based assessment for several years.

The state Office of Public Instruction sets standards for what Montana students need to know in K-12 education.

Tom Gillespie, a 20-year social studies instructor in his 10th year at Somers, and Luke Johnson, an English/language arts teacher in his fourth year, point to their Holocaust unit to demonstrate the program.

A month ago, Gillespie began teaching on World War II, how one event led to the next. He helped students see how those connected to their lives today. Johnson showed the 1997 Italian film "Life is Beautiful" about Jewish internment in a Nazi camp, had students read nonfiction and fiction novels on the Holocaust, write up their research and present lessons to teach each other.

After four weeks of study and more projects, each student produced an essay exploring "Faith in Humanity."

Each student followed a specific set of guidelines, called rubrics, outlining language devices, research information, clarity and more skills that were needed for a successful project.

They evaluated themselves on how close they came to each, and knew on exactly which points they rated "advanced" or "nearing proficient," for example. And they knew why.

"It's about them, it's not about something I did to them," Gillespie said.

"It's not subjective," Wing added. "It's clearly in the rubric."

"Instead of being motivated by a grade," Gillespie said, "they're motivated by a well-done finished product."

This method of teaching requires far more work and accountability from teachers. But when they see the results, nearly everyone is willing to step up to the new demands.

"Middle school is the whole transition of making kids independent learners," Schieffer said.

The students gain the learning "tools" in each subject area, work up to the standards expected, and know how to improve their own academics. They hurdle the bar by sharpening their skills, not by doing more assignments for extra credit.

"It eliminates kids who just want to do more work to get a better grade," Gillespie said.

"It's not a quantity," Schieffer added, "it's a quality."

And, as students learn to grade their own work, to understand why it is important to learn and master each skill, they grow in many ways.

"It's not a matter of honesty," Johnson said. "It's a matter of maturity."

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com