Although I was going to look into FreshGrade’s privacy settings this week, there was a surprise visit in one of my classes from a teacher who actually uses FreshGrade with her students! Because of this, I am going to post what I have learned about FreshGrade from this talk. So here we go…

The teacher who talked to us gave us examples of the guidelines for reporting using FreshGrade that are used in her school district. Some of these guidelines revolved around student progress reports. During these reports teachers in their first year of using FreshGrade will continue to use formal progress reports at defined reporting times during the school year. On the contrary, teachers in their second year of using FreshGrade may provide summative comments at key times during the year rather than providing progress reports. These summative comments will appear as part of the FreshGrade portfolio. All students will receive a final written report that summarizes their learning over the course of the school year. Additionally, the final written summative report will include a student self-assessment of the core competencies.

Some of the portfolio requirements include a minimum of one piece of evidence of learning each month in the key areas of reading, writing, and numeracy. Additionally, a minimum of one post per year in other required areas of study. Lastly, summative information for reading, writing, and numeracy should be reported in the student portfolio at least two times per year.

With regard to letter grades and performance, neither letter grades nor percentages are used to indicate student performance in all elementary grades (k-5). Although, student progress may be communicated using language consistent with the Ministry of Education Performance Scales in areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. For grades 4 and 5 letter grades may be communicated verbally to parents who request them but letter grades are not to be communicated via electronic portfolios.

Some of the forms used by the school included a electronic portfolio checklist for teachers new to FreshGrade, a parent informed consent form, a web-based tools consent form, a parent letter for mid-year student progress reports for teachers in their second year of FreshGrade use, sample student progress reports using FreshGrade, a core competency self-assessment form, prompts for student self-reflections, examples of documentation, and guiding principles and beliefs about reporting.

Some other key attributes included attendance information, which should be posted two times per year and as part of the final summative report. Further, an indication of the school name must be included on student progress reports and summative reports.

Some cautions discussed about using e-portfolios included:
-Less is more: We want to ensure key areas of learning are shared and that we don’t overwhelm parents.
-Carefully choose evidence that demonstrates and shows student learning.
-Make clear assessment decisions: Decide which key assessment matter most and avoid overwhelming the portfolio.

This is only some of the information that was discussed in class. I hope, with permission, to include more information later in the week. For now I will be adding this information to my word document that holds my tech inquiry assignment.

Thanks for reading!

^ Pro of FreshGrade ^