Parents/ guardians of students in grades 7-12 can also review student grades online in our student information database. To learn more about accessing student grades online please contact your school.
If you already have a password, you are welcome to log on now.
Standards-based report card
The Somerville Public Schools uses a Standards-Based Report Card for students in grades 1-5. Committees of teachers and administrators worked collaboratively to create and revise this report card based on the 2011 Massachusetts Frameworks.
Why a Standards-Based Report Card?
The Standards-Based Report Card benefits students, teachers, and parents/guardians. It allows students to be more aware of what is expected of them. It gives teachers across the district a better understanding of what each child should know and be able to do at each grade level and guide their instruction to match each student's needs.
The Layout
The K-5 report card is issued four times a year. Instead of letter grades, it uses four categories to show your child's progress toward meeting each standard.
- E: Exceeding the grade level standard consistently
- M: Meeting the grade level standard and producing quality work
- P: Progressing toward the standard and producing required grade level work with teacher assistance
- N: Not meeting the standard and not yet able to produce required grade level work
- N/A: Standard not addressed this term. You should expect to see some N/As used in the first two quarters. This is because the entire curriculum cannot be taught at once. While some learning standards will be addressed throughout the entire year, others will be phased in as the school year progresses.
Preparing to Meet with Your Child's Teacher
As you think about the report card and prepare to have conversations with your child's teacher, some of the following may be helpful questions to ask during your conference time:
- If my child is "progressing" toward the standard is he or she on track to be proficient by the end of the year?
- How can I as a parent or guardian use the information on the report card to help my child at home?
Before the Conference
Talk to your child:
What do you like about school? Not like?
What’s easy or hard for you?
What do you think I should tell or ask your teacher?
Questions to Ask During the Conference
What’s my child good at?
What can I do to help my child at home?
Ask if you don’t understand: There are many educational terms and jargon, which we use and sometimes forget to explain. The report cards can be confusing, especially since many of us had a very different system (A, B, C, D) when we went to school.
Can I see my child’s work? It’s much easier to talk about your child’s strengths and weaknesses, when there’s a piece of work in front of you.
What can we do together to help him/her? Examples: Communicate more frequently or in a different way, set up an organization system, behavior charts.