Jun 07 2010

So, As A Parent, What Would You Like To See On A Report Card?

Published by at 12:46 am under School Teacher Snark

I’ll admit I have enormous problems when I write report comments.  I am such a perfectionist that I can easily sit there rewording one students comment for over an hour.  Most teachers I know average a report comment every ten minutes – I usually average half an hour per comment.\

The biggest issue that I have is that I want my report to be useful to the parents.  I want them to be able to read it and have an immediate understanding of where their child is at, what they are able to do, and what they need to work on.  However, I also have to balance this with the style that the school and the Department expect, and these things do not always meet up.  For instance, many parents have expressed an interest in their child’s behaviour at school, and this is something that we have a limited ability to comment on in a report card.  The standard now is to comment on academic achievement, not behaviour.

However, there is a vast difference in commenting styles even within the school.  My report comments read very differently to other teachers.  My comments tend to be structured somewhat like the following:

[Your child] has demonstrated a sound understanding of the concepts studied in English this semester. She composed and presented an effective oral presentation which reflected her sound understanding of poetry and her ability to deconstruct texts and identify textual features. [Your Child] has shown enthusiasm in all aspects of English, and contributes willingly to class discussion and assists her peers. [Your Child] could consolidate her skills in this course by reading at home and revising before examinations.

I have seen other teachers’ report comments, which tend to be more like this:

[Your Child] has achieved pleasing results this semester. He attempts all set tasks in class, and made a good effort on [Assessment A]. However, he did not make a substantial effort at [Assessment B], which was disappointing. [Your Child] could benefit from attending the after school study program.

There’s quite a bit of difference between the two comments.  Mine are unfortunately rather heavy with teacher speak, but I find it difficult to explain exactly what children are able to do without using it.  We also aren’t meant to make value judgements like ‘pleasing’, but I know many teachers do so anyway, and I think many parents expect it.

What would you expect to see on your child’s report card?  What sorts of things would you want to see and know about, and how would you like to see it written?

12 responses so far

  • http://deceptivelyrandom.wordpress.com/ Dechion

    Generally I don’t see much in the way of comments, but what I do see is more similar to your second example.

    I refer not so much to the way it’s worded, but to the content therin. The first example is all positive, and who does not like to hear positive things right?

    The second though, it has a bit more oomph to it as it states both what the strong and weak points are.

    Then again, I rarely get much in the way of comments since I stop in at least once a week and actually chat with the teachers face to face.

    There is much to be said for staying on top of things. You know, catching issues when they are still small and easily correctable. That said, I am ususlly pretty “in the loop” with whats going on. That may well reflect on the way the comments I do see are written.

  • http://deceptivelyrandom.wordpress.com/ Dechion

    Generally I don’t see much in the way of comments, but what I do see is more similar to your second example.

    I refer not so much to the way it’s worded, but to the content therin. The first example is all positive, and who does not like to hear positive things right?

    The second though, it has a bit more oomph to it as it states both what the strong and weak points are.

    Then again, I rarely get much in the way of comments since I stop in at least once a week and actually chat with the teachers face to face.

    There is much to be said for staying on top of things. You know, catching issues when they are still small and easily correctable. That said, I am ususlly pretty “in the loop” with whats going on. That may well reflect on the way the comments I do see are written.

  • Angela

    I must admit, the first is just an example I lifted from a good student’s report card (really, one of those kids I can not find anything to criticise). I’ll put an example of a more, um… critical one up tomorrow.

  • Angela

    I must admit, the first is just an example I lifted from a good student’s report card (really, one of those kids I can not find anything to criticise). I’ll put an example of a more, um… critical one up tomorrow.

  • Angela

    I think my biggest issue with the second one is that it does make personal judgements. It’s not really my place as a teacher to say whether results are ‘pleasing’ or ‘not pleasing’. I just have to report on how they are actually doing against the outcomes. Oh, Outcomes Based Education, what fun you are!

  • Angela

    I think my biggest issue with the second one is that it does make personal judgements. It’s not really my place as a teacher to say whether results are ‘pleasing’ or ‘not pleasing’. I just have to report on how they are actually doing against the outcomes. Oh, Outcomes Based Education, what fun you are!

  • http://softthistle.net Marylin

    I prefer your comment to the 2nd one… it’s much more formal and tells us more about what the child has been doing (ie what assess a and b actually *involve*).

    I’d rather have your comment to the 2nd if it were my boys (even though I’m sure it wouldn’t be singing praises as much, but would tell me what they need to know!).

  • http://softthistle.net Marylin

    I prefer your comment to the 2nd one… it’s much more formal and tells us more about what the child has been doing (ie what assess a and b actually *involve*).

    I’d rather have your comment to the 2nd if it were my boys (even though I’m sure it wouldn’t be singing praises as much, but would tell me what they need to know!).

  • http://deceptivelyrandom.wordpress.com/ Dechion

    Looking back through the lens of a half a pot of coffee (which was sorely lacking at the office yesterday) I can see the points you were trying to make.

    Allow me to rephrase my comments a bit.

    I prefer the tone and detail of the first example. The level of detail would likely not be needed in my case since I speak with the teachers regularly, but depending on the level of parental involvment I can see the need.

    The reason I talked of liking the second example was more to it’s content. I will try to explain.

    I fix things for a living. Therefore I have trained my mind (and to an extent my kids) to look at things that need immprovement the way I look at making things better.

    A cliche in my house is “I can’t fix it till I know what’s broken.”

    This holds true for anything, including schoolwork.

    It’s hard to improve unless you understand what needs improving. You need to know your weaknesses to strengthen them.

    That is why I picked up on the second example. It would give me, as a parent, something to work with my child on over the summer holiday.

    TLDR: Given equal content I prefer the style of the first example, but I will take content over style. The information matters more than the format.

  • http://deceptivelyrandom.wordpress.com/ Dechion

    Looking back through the lens of a half a pot of coffee (which was sorely lacking at the office yesterday) I can see the points you were trying to make.

    Allow me to rephrase my comments a bit.

    I prefer the tone and detail of the first example. The level of detail would likely not be needed in my case since I speak with the teachers regularly, but depending on the level of parental involvment I can see the need.

    The reason I talked of liking the second example was more to it’s content. I will try to explain.

    I fix things for a living. Therefore I have trained my mind (and to an extent my kids) to look at things that need immprovement the way I look at making things better.

    A cliche in my house is “I can’t fix it till I know what’s broken.”

    This holds true for anything, including schoolwork.

    It’s hard to improve unless you understand what needs improving. You need to know your weaknesses to strengthen them.

    That is why I picked up on the second example. It would give me, as a parent, something to work with my child on over the summer holiday.

    TLDR: Given equal content I prefer the style of the first example, but I will take content over style. The information matters more than the format.

  • Angela

    Well, really, I should have posted comments written in different styles about the ‘same’ child. That would have made a lot more sense. I’m just going to put it down to general brain addlement thanks to report time!

  • Angela

    Well, really, I should have posted comments written in different styles about the ‘same’ child. That would have made a lot more sense. I’m just going to put it down to general brain addlement thanks to report time!

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