Francine Sustaita Jandrucko: explaining the fine print.

Certain things are perpetually being redesigned: cars, computer programs, Madonna. Report cards, on the other hand, remain mostly constant. A reassuring cog in the education system, report cards serve a single function, like staplers; you can't do much to buff them up.

Elementary school administrators with the Mansfield Independent School District don't see it that way. They've debuted a souped-up version of their second-grade report card this fall that looks like a corporate evaluation and, at times, reads that way, too.

In three folds of tiny print, it requires teachers to assess students in 98 different skills in nine categories. Those assessments include some complex, seemingly un-elementary subjects. Take the new card's health education section, for example: Teachers must evaluate whether a second-grader "describes the role of media in influencing health choices."

Not only do some of the skills seem beyond what should be expected of second-graders, but some of the language is so arcane that those with two college degrees might not understand it. For instance, a student must show that he or she "demonstrates goal-setting and problem-solving skills for promoting positive health decisions."

Mansfield officials lifted most of the assessments directly from the Texas Education Association's Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), which is the state-set curriculum that mandates what elementary students must know before advancing to higher grades.

Not only that, but the report card uses the TEKS's professional terminology. The phrases could baffle anyone not involved in education: "Writes for a variety of purposes/audiences using writing process to complete self-initiated and assigned writing," and "applies problem-solving models in everyday situations." Mansfield officials said they consciously opted not to alter the TEKS language to avoid diluting or changing the state curriculum and to show parents exactly what the state demands. Yet the result, district officials concede, is that second-graders won't understand their own report cards.

Mansfield officials are proud of the new report card, saying its specific detail and adherence to state standards let parents know exactly which basic skills students have mastered or need improvement in. They add that such detailed assessments are a coming trend in Texas schools. Some teachers and state education experts, however, wonder if the report cards aren't too much for second-graders -- and their parents. They caution that elementary schools in Mansfield or anywhere else must train teachers and parents extensively to make the report cards successful.

"You'd almost need a plain-language version of this for some parents," said Harley Eckhart, associate executive director of the Texas Elementary Principal and Supervisor Association [TEPSA], in a plain-language understatement.

Little in education is new anymore. Most fresh ideas are actually re-treads from years ago that some educator has dusted off and presented at a conference. Such is the case with Mansfield's detailed report card, which was a fad in the early 1970s in several Texas school districts, TEPSA officials said.

Mansfield school officials came up with the idea four years ago of revamping report cards for students in kindergarten through second grade. They later added pre-kindergarten to that list. The district's old report cards were smaller and more traditional, with grades for work habits, social growth, math, and language. They asked teachers to evaluate students in 22 specific areas within those main categories. Yet Mansfield officials thought the reports didn't give parents enough information, said Sarah Jandrucko, head of elementary education for the district.

Officials studied report cards from all over the country, pooled the ideas, and added some of their own before unveiling a new kindergarten report card in the 1998-99 school year. They held conferences with kindergarten teachers to refine the cards. A year later, officials implemented the first-grade version. Many parents are already comfortable with the new format, because it was used in their kids' classes last year, district officials said.

The same can't be said for teachers. The second-grade report card is the most detailed yet, and several Mansfield second-grade teachers fear the card is overkill. Specifically, some teachers question whether they can evaluate every student in so many categories. "We've gotten so used to putting a grade on everything, it's hard to conceive of a different system," said Jodie Villemaire, a second-grade teacher at Charlotte Anderson Elementary School. She added she's never seen a report card like this one, except once at a small Texas private school.

"Those second-grade teachers that are concerned have always thought of a child passing or failing a subject," Jandrucko said. "And now [the report card] looks at that child with a great deal more detail and it doesn't look so much at failing or passing. It's like running a race. We know everyone is going to reach the finish line."

Despite all their detail, the one thing the report cards lack is grades. In the language arts and mathematics sections, which make up more than half of the assessments, Mansfield officials replaced the traditional "excellent, satisfactory, needs improvement, unsatisfactory" set-up with a number system. (One means "the student consistently demonstrates" a skill; two denotes "the student is progressing with teacher's assistance"; three means "the student is not demonstrating" progress.) Jandrucko said the lack of grades is an advantage. In place of a single, meaningless math grade, the new report cards, she said, tell parents which math skills their children have mastered.

That is, if parents can understand the language. "It seems a little on the technical side," said Debbie Graves Ratcliffe, senior director of communications with TEA. "It needs to be scrutinized by the school district to make sure it's understandable to lay people because if it's too technical, it won't be a lot of help to parents."

Eckhart said the key is for administrators to train teachers how to evaluate students and to ensure parents understand the evaluations. He also wondered how the report card would translate if a student transferred into the system or when students move up to third and fourth grade.

Mansfield officials said teachers were consulted about the new cards and that teachers explained the cards to parents during conferences. Several principals raved about the new report cards, saying they're working already. "Whenever there's change, people are going to be a little uncomfortable," said Virginia Malek, principal at Willie Brown elementary. "The teachers here have been very supportive."

Even some critics say the new cards, if handled the right way, could involve parents much more in their children's education. If not implemented well, however, the detailed report cards could go the way of other discarded fads, like open-classroom practices, that are strewn along the state's circular education path.

"There's no right or wrong way to do a report card," Eckhart said. "It could be real effective. It could also be exasperating."