Data Binders and Student-Led Parent Conferences

Happy Sunday! Did you remember to set your clocks back?? The sun - yes, the SUN!- woke me up at 6:30 this morning. Eesh. I'm going to have to get used to this! 

I wanted to pop in briefly and share what I did for my parent conferences this year because I absolutely loved it and it made the conferences a breeze!

I've been wanting to have student-led conferences for the past few years and this year I finally pulled it off!

Each student has a data binder that holds their important tests and assignments for math and reading and a section in the back for work that they are especially proud of.  I haven't used binders like this before, but I am loving them! The kids feel such pride looking through their binders at all of their hard work.

Based on their performance on the tests housed in the binder and other class assignments, each student and I filled out an assessment profile together that gave information about their strengths and weaknesses. These assessment profiles listed the TEKS we have covered so far this year and whether that objective was developed or if they were still developing. There was also a section for comments if any were needed. At the bottom was a section for goals. On the math page I also included a little section describing mathematical behaviors to provide information that may be pertinent to why they were making mistakes in math (sloppy handwriting, misaligned numbers, you get the picture!).

If you would like a copy of the assessment profiles, click the link below. One page is for math and one page is for reading. I'm leaving it as a PPT file so you can edit it as needed.

Assessment Profile

Here is the beautiful part- at the conference, the student led! They sat in my seat at our back kidney table while their family members and I sat on the other side. They led us through their binders starting with their assessment profiles and explained what their strengths and weaknesses were in each subject as well as what their goals were. I was so proud!!!

They also showed their parents each assignment in the binder and explained why they missed certain questions. After the student was done, I opened it up for questions from the family and had a few last comments.

This year I can honestly say I had the best conferences ever! It felt so good to see the kids be independent and aware of their academic performance. We will continue to add to the data binders all year long and I will definitely continue with student-led parent conferences!