Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Roz Doctorow
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
alternative assessments, assessments, classroom practices, communication, conferences, consistency, data analysis, effective communication, parental involvement, parents, performance, portfolios, progress, report cards, reporting system, school, students, teachers, vocabulary
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to create and use a new reporting system that would better communicate with parents how their child was performing in school. The system used before the implementation was fragmented (each grade used a different reporting system), outdated (not complementing what was happening in the classroom), used confusing codes (parents not receiving a clear message), and unreliable (teachers used the reporting systems for different purposes). The new reporting system would have a common purpose, be consistent in format between grades, and use vocabulary that was clear and easy to understand.
Three solution strategies were incorporated into the implementation to rectify the problem at the writer’s setting. They were to increase parental communication and involvement in the school, to align classroom practices, assessments, and reporting systems to increase effective communication, and to use alternative assessments to communicate more effectively and clearly.
An analysis of the data revealed that parents believed the new reporting system was a better tool for communicating their children’s progress. Parents believed that the new reporting tool gave them more information and they had a clearer understanding of their children’s performance. Students had greater understanding of what the report said about their performance and were able to answer questions that their parents had about what the report card said. Teachers were able to connect what was happening in the classroom and how they were assessing students to the new reporting system. Teachers believed that they had a better tool to communicate with the home. The teachers will continue to make necessary adjustments to the system as needed in the future.