Lodi Unified outlines new sixth-grade report card, shifts to letter grades and Aeries integration
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Summary
Lodi Unified presented a year-long committee’s plan to replace sixth-grade rubric scores with a letter-grade report card aligned to middle/high-school practice, integrated with the Aeries gradebook and accompanied by teacher training and parent outreach starting this summer. Board members pressed for rubrics, SDC guidance and clear parent communication before policies change.
Lodi Unified School District staff on Monday presented a yearlong committee’s plan to change how sixth graders are graded and reported, moving from a rubric-style profile to a traditional A–F letter-grade report card that will populate directly from the district’s Aeries gradebook.
Susan Peterson, the district’s director of education, said the committee — made up of sixth-grade teachers, instructional coaches and coordinators — spent a full year developing the document to “reflect student progress toward the California Common Core State Standards” and to smooth the transition from elementary to secondary expectations. “We are moving away from the previous rubric-style profile scoring and moving toward a traditional letter grade system that aligns with middle and high school practices,” Peterson said.
The change, staff said, is intended to help families and students understand academic progress with a familiar format and reduce confusion when students enter middle school. Committee members described integrating the new report card with Aeries so teachers’ gradebook entries will populate the report card automatically. “Using Aeries standardized gradebook, teachers will enter assignments and assessments just as they normally do, but now those grades will populate directly into the report card,” the presentation said.
Staff told the board they began districtwide trainings for sixth-grade teachers in May and will continue professional-development sessions, including peer-to-peer trainings and evening options. Teacher leaders said the early feedback from trainings has been positive. “They are very excited,” a trainer said of participating sixth-grade staff. The district also plans parent-facing slides for back-to-school nights, screencasts in October and multilingual communications through the district’s English Learner Advisory Council and other family forums.
Board members pressed staff for additional detail. Trustee questions focused on who will deliver the training, whether common rubrics and category weights will be standardized across sites, and how students with special needs (SDC) will be reflected on the new card. Terry Dix, the district’s instructional coach involved in the committee trainings, said committee members led the training and that follow-up advanced sessions will be available. Staff also said the district will convene a small committee of SDC teachers to develop guidance for reporting for students with specialized needs.
Several trustees recommended that the board see proposed policy and administrative-rule language before broad family communications. Peterson told the board she will return with recommended updates to board policy and administrative rule 5121 (grading and reporting) so the board can approve the policy-language changes before districtwide outreach.
What’s next: Staff said they will present proposed policy and administrative-rule amendments to the board in a forthcoming meeting, continue rolling professional development over the summer and incorporate parent materials into back-to-school events. The committee emphasized the implementation is intended to be iterative and that the district will solicit parent and teacher feedback during the first year of use.
Source: Presentation and Q&A by district staff and committee members during the board meeting (presentation began SEG 985, committee Q&A continued through SEG 1426).
