Student performance is related to motivation to learn. As motivation generally declines during lower secondary education, one might expect performance to decline as well during this period. Though, until now, it has been unclear whether this pattern exists. In the present study, we examined student performance during the early years of secondary…

This study investigates the content and coding systems of kindergarten and first grade report cards from 57 Connecticut school districts. Report cards differed among districts in number of items, emphasis on curriculum areas and learning dimensions, and coding systems. Kindergarten report cards were more likely to emphasize discrete skills and…

Whether parents of fourth graders (n=285) interpreted mathematics grades with the same meaning as teachers (n=16) who assigned them was studied through questionnaires. Results indicate poor home-to-school communication, with a great deal of inconsistency between teachers' and parents' views. (SLD)