The district provides parents and guardians with many resources.  The district highly values parent involvement and includes parents in committees, planning teams and advisory groups. 

If you are looking for a resource not listed here, please call (414) 773-1000.

Grading Information

On August 30, 2011, the district welcomed back Wauwatosa teachers with guest speaker, Dr. Tom Guskey, a University of Kentucky professor known around the world for his research and practice in education grading reform.  Dr. Guskey challenged several aspects of traditional grading practices that are punitive to students, such as using percentages, zeros, and other mathematical precision as a means to reflect what a student has mastered.   He also presented essential guiding principles to reform grading practices which begins with a clear statement of purpose for grading and reporting.  Dr. Guskey’s presentation is provided on this website along with several other articles providing narrative conversation around the topic of grading reform. 

As a result of this presentation, Wauwatosa teachers have been asked to reflect on their current grading practices in relation to the research on effective grading practices.  This reflection is especially focused on the elimination of

practices that use punishment as a motivation for students to learn.  Some teachers are piloting alternative ways to report student achievement to parents, while others are eliminating practices contradictory to research and adopting methods of grading and reporting aligned to student achievement, rather than student behavior.  The district will continue making progress in this area by analyzing current grading policies and practices that are not aligned to best practice research. In addition we are working on improving the quality of grade level achievement expectations, which provide the foundation for an effective grading and reporting system. 

Dr. Tom Guskey’s Conclusions from Research on Grading

1. Grading and reporting are NOT essential to the instructional process; Students can and do learn without grades and teachers can teach without grades
2. No one method of grading and reporting serves all purposes well
3. Grading and reporting will always involve some degree of subjectivity
4. Mathematic precision does not yield fairer or more objective grading
5. Grades have some value as rewards, but NO value as punishments
6. Grading and reporting should always be done in reference to learning criteria, never “on the curve”
7. Grade distributions reflect both the student level of performance and the quality of teaching
8. Report cards are but one way of communicating with parents
9. High percentages are not the same as high standards

Click here to visit the district web page to learn more about grading through a variety of links.

JK-12 Science Review

Since November of 2010, the Wauwatosa School District has been facilitating a review of JK-12 science curriculum.   As a part of that process, Madison based science consultant LeRoy Lee was hired to review the science program.  He presented the Executive Summary to the Curriculum Council and Board of Education in December. As a part of his audit of the science curriculum he surveyed parents, students and staff.  In addition, he facilitated focus groups at both middle and high schools to learn more about student perceptions of their science learning.  His comprehensive report can be viewed here.

The science curriculum review will continue throughout the 2011-12 school year.  Science Content Teams, made up of representative teachers and administrators,  will use the audit results to inform their work in reviewing the curriculum and making final recommendations to the Board of Education.