Parent Partnership at Traut

“A partnership is defined as a collaborative effort between parents and staff as equals”

(TCKS Charter)

At TCKS, our parents are fully involved in all aspects of the school, to the point of full partnership in the decision-making and operation of the school. We believe that every child’s first and most important teachers are his or her parents, and that our school exists to supplement and support the learning that is started in the home. Parents play a vital role at Traut.  Whether volunteering in the classroom, grading papers at home, or serving on committees, your time and the attention you provide to your child's academic career play a crucial part in maintaining our excellence.  Thank you parents! 

The TCKS Hand in Hand Guidebook provides detailed information about the Partnership Model at Traut.

We invite you to consider volunteer opportunities:

  • in the classrooms
  • in the specials classrooms
  • in the office
  • on the playground
  • in the lunch room
  • with field trips
  • serving on committees
  • at school-wide activities (e.g. Field Day)
  • with extra-curricular activities (e.g. Odyssey of the Mind coordinator, Traut Track 10)
  • gathering resources

 

    

                   Cultural Fair (5th grade)                                                Read Aloud Day                                               Committee members

 

A Parent's Guide to Assessment....

Assessment is a valuable tool in education, and different viewpoints are necessary to obtain a full picture of a child's ability.  There are several different assessment results available to you to track academic progress.  Here is some information on a few of them.  For a complete analysis and for personalized information, please always contact your child's teacher and/or the assessment coordinator (Mrs. Baker).

There are three main assessment tools used in at Traut, depending your child's grade:

STAR Reading

This assessment is a computer program used to determine how students perform on basic reading/comprehension tests compared with the performance of a nationally representative sample of students in the spring of 1996.  This assessment is typically given three times a year for students in 1st-6th grades (September, January, and May).  There are several different scores reported:

SS (Scaled Score): ranges from 50-1350 and result from converting all test results to a common scale and are used in the determination of all norm-referenced scores reported.

GE (Grade Equivalent): ranges from 0.0 - 13+ and represents how the student performed relative to others in the sample.

PR (Percentile Rank): ranges from 1 - 99 and shows how a student's performance compared to that of his/her grade peers nationally.

NCE (Normal Curve Equivalent): derived from percentile ranks, can be statistically averaged.  These scores are used for research purposes, or for Title 1 or other government evaluations.

IRL (Instructional Reading Level): the reading grade level at which the student can recognize words and comprehend material with assistance.  This score represents the highest level at which the student demonstrated at least 80% proficiency. 

ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development): defines the reading level range from which the student would be selecting books in order to achieve optimal growth in reading without frustration.  Success at any level also depends on the student's interest, prior knowledge, and other factors.

Levels

These assessments are given in reading and math for grades 3 - 6.  They are given in April.  Levels tests are discussed in detail in the S.A.L.T. (Standards Achievement Level Tests) booklet available in the school office. 

Levels tests measure student achievement against Poudre School District (PSD) standards, which are similar to or higher than the Colorado State standards.  Levels tests have two scores: (1) RIT score that measures individual achievement, and (2) percentile rank that tells how well a student has performed on the level test in comparison with the total body of students at that grade level who have taken a comparable test nationally.

Questions in each levels test cover the all the standards, but are of different difficulty levels.  The appropriate test for a student is determined by the use of a locator test, a pre-test given by the classroom teacher that is not timed.  The locator test assigns the correct level test where the student is expected to answer 50% of the items correctly.

Reading Standards Tested:

Word meaning/vocabulary: context clues, synonyms/antonyms, multiple meanings, word roots

Literal comprehension: recall details/facts/main ideas, sequence details, classifying facts, follow directions

Interpretive comprehension: interpret implied meaning from content/style/organization, prediction, summarize and synthesize, recognize cause and effect, draw conclusions/inferences

Evaluative comprehension: evaluate intent/validity/worth of written materials, fact/opinion, merit of written materials, recognize propaganda techniques

Math Standards Tested:

Computation and estimation: perform operations with real numbers; apply appropriate estimation procedures to problems

Problem solving: use a variety of strategies to solve problems

Number relations: number properties, compare numbers using proper symbols, fraction/decimal/percent interrelationships, locate real numbers on a number line

Statistics and probability: use logic to solve probability/statistics, read and interpret tables/charts/graphs, use ratios to express simple probabilities

Geometry and measurements: compute areas/perimeter/volume/etc., identify/classify/describe geometric figures

Patterns and functions: order of operations, substitute into formulas and expressions, solve equations and simplify expressions, plot points on number line and on coordinate graphs, understand concepts of inequality

 

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