Curriculum, Homework and Reporting
Coffee Over Curriculum
Usually held in the morning sometime during the week prior to the start of school, the purpose of Coffee Over Curriculum is to familiarize parents with their child's teacher and educational program. While the orientation is not a time to discuss individual needs, it does offer a glimpse of the teacher's approach, the curriculum, and classroom expectations. If you find you still have questions following the orientation, please discuss them with your child's teacher.
Homework
We believe homework should be used to:
- Improve academic performance
- Encourage parental involvement in their child's education
In addition to daily reading, Concord students are expected to complete approximately ten minutes of homework per day for each grade they have completed. A third grader, for example, should spend approximately 30 minutes each day completing homework.
If no homework is assigned, the following activities are suggested:
- Study spelling
- Practice math facts
- Play strategy games
- Write letters or journal entries
- Review daily work with parents
Homework Hints
The following homework guidelines can be helpful for parents:
- Set aside a quiet study area with adequate work space.
- Have appropriate materials available, which may include crayons, markers, scissors, glue, ruler, paper, pens, pencils, calculator, dictionary, atlas, and thesaurus.
- Create weekly homework schedules around family activities.
- Offer lots of encouragement.
- Foster independence by helping, not doing the work for them.
- Limit television/video game time.
Reporting and Assessment
Student assessment is a continuous process. Concord is progressing in the use of student portfolios as well as traditional report cards. A portfolio is a collection of student work samples which represent the progress the individual student has made during the assessment period.
Progress reports (report cards) are issued on a trimester schedule. Students are marked according to their perceived skill level: M (mastered), P (progressing) and N (needs improvement). Teachers will explain this more fully at parent-teacher conferences.
Refer to the Concord Student Directory for the timing of report cards.
Standardized Testing
The Edina School District routinely administers standardized tests to certain grade levels. Each year, the district's testing schedule is included in the school directory. Parents are sent test score results along with an interpretation of the scores.
Cognitive Abilities Tests (CoGATs)
Given in second and fourth grades. The CoGATs assesses students' strengths in three general abilities: verbal, quantitative and nonverbal.
Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs)
Given in third and fifth grades. These state mandated tests evaluate students' progress toward established state criteria, standards and guidelines. The third grade MCAs include reading and math. The fifth grade MCAs include reading, math, and writing.
Achievement Level Tests (ALTs)
A series of tests that systematically increase in difficulty from one to another. Leveled tests make it possible to give each student a test appropriate to his or her achievement level. Since the test information is anchored in the curriculum, it is possible to track student progress accurately from year to year. It also helps the district know whether its instructional programs are working effectively. These tests are given in February.