Go Beyond Grades Beloit

Strengthening the home-school partnership

Go Beyond Grades Beloit

Strengthening the home-school partnership

Parents want to know how their children are doing in school—but report card grades don’t always tell the full story. Go Beyond Grades Beloit helps families understand grade-level expectations in reading and math and encourages productive, informed conversations with teachers.

Why it matters

Go Beyond Grades Beloit is a public awareness campaign shaped by research showing that parent perceptions of grade-level performance are often different from what state assessment data indicates. Recently launched by a coalition of local organizations and education partners, the campaign helps families better understand grade-level expectations in reading and math.

- Statewide research shows more than 80% of Wisconsin parents believe their child is performing at or above grade level in math or reading.
- In Beloit, just over 30% of students are currently meeting grade-level benchmarks on state tests in those subjects.*
- In Wisconsin, 77% of parents report that their kids get mostly A’s and B’s on their report cards.**

When families have access to clear information, tools, and a strong home-school partnership, kids do better.

Grades are important, but they don’t tell the whole story.

Grades represent more than grade-level mastery; they also often include teacher observation around effort and/or progress like class participation, turning in homework, and/or showing improvement over time.

Though a student may make progress, it is possible they may still be below academic expectations based on state standards that outline what a student should know and be able to do by the end of the school year.

Standardized tests provide a different kind of information, offering a broader picture of how a student is performing relative to meeting consistent, grade-level expectations across schools and districts.

Bottom line: Looking at grades, classroom work, and state assessments together gives a more complete picture of whether a student is on track and where they may need support.

What the campaign offers

Go Beyond Grades Beloit offers free, bilingual resources, clear information, and practical tips and tools to support parents and educators in working together to move student learning forward.

Who’s behind Go Beyond Grades

Go Beyond Grades is an initiative of Learning Heroes, a national nonprofit dedicated to strengthening relationships between families and schools so every child can succeed. The Hendricks Family Foundation and the Oak Foundation (which supports resources related to student learning differences) provide philanthropic support to bring the campaign to Beloit. Local partner organizations help connect families across the community to Go Beyond Grades Beloit resources.

Local partners

Schools: School District of Beloit; Beloit Turner School District; The Lincoln Academy
Tutoring: Retired & Senior Volunteer Program
Libraries & literacy: Beloit Public Library; Stateline Literacy Council; Stateline Community Foundation Literacy for Life
Health: Community Health Systems; Beloit Health System
Youth & family organizations: Stateline Boys & Girls Club; Stateline Family YMCA; Hendricks CareerTEK

Learn more

Visit Go Beyond Grades Beloit for free access to clear information, tips, and practical resources like the Readiness Check and the Parent-Teacher Planning tool.

Sources

* State-reported district-level proficiency rates for the School District of Beloit, Beloit Turner School District, and The Lincoln Academy (combined using a weighted average based on the number of students tested in each district).

** Survey conducted by 50 CAN.

Packard Family Care Center Website

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