The purpose of progress reports and report cards is to communicate a student’s progress in meeting standards as well as how the student is demonstrating the learning habits that support student achievement and to identify areas of strength and areas where improvements may be needed. The schools of the Essex Westford District use a variety of different forms of standards-based or proficiency-based reporting tools.

On traditional report cards, students receive one letter or number for each content area for a specific point in time which is intended to represent the student learning of the classroom learning objectives as a whole. A standards-based, or proficiency-based, reporting system is designed to better inform parents/guardians and students about the child’s progress towards achieving specific learning standards, or proficiencies. This report card benefits students, teachers, and parents/guardians by:

• providing more transparency through increased information about how a student is progressing towards meeting standards;

• allowing students to be more informed and actively engaged in their learning;

• ensuring increased consistency across classrooms; and

• providing parents/guardians with more detailed information about grade level proficiencies.

In EWSD, all of our schools (K-12) use PowerTeacher Pro for progress monitoring and reporting. 

• K-5 progress reports are issued two times per year (caregivers can stay updated on progress through the portal).

• Middle level progress reports are issued three times per year (caregivers can stay updated on progress through the portal).

• High school reports are issued two times per year (caregivers can stay updated on progress through the portal).

Effective Instruction

• Student Progress Reports

• Student Assessments

• Student Achievement Data

• EWSD Grade Level Curriculum