NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre CLIC

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Written Report Comments Assessment and Reporting Learning Policy Unit NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre © 2006 NSW Department of Education and Training

Why are report comments important? Policy requirements Parent research NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Reporting Requirements 1.parents … formal and informal opportunities to receive information about and discuss their child’s learning 2.procedures for reporting to parents based on Department’s policy, time efficient and manageable, and developed in consultation with parents/carers and teachers 3.written report … at least twice per year 4.information on how a child’s achievement compares with the child’s peer group at the school 5.disseminate to parents the reports from state-wide testing programs NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Written reports i.use plain language ii.provide information on a student’s learning in each of the key learning areas or subjects iii.compare student’s achievement against state-wide syllabus standards using a A-E scale iv.teacher comments identify areas of student strength and for further development v.student attendance at school vi.student achievement in relation to school programs that extend or are additional to syllabus requirements vii.student’s social development and commitment to learning NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

DET Advice The new policy reinforces the importance of teacher comments in the written report. Parents have indicated, consistently, how highly they value written comments by their child’s teacher The comments need to be in plain English and show a student’s strength and areas for further improvement NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

What is effective feedback? Feedback on its own does little to assist students to improve their level of performance. As well as indicating what they did and did not do, effective feedback includes evaluation and further guidance. That guidance might be specified or implied, or it might be elicited from the students by asking questions designed to get them to suggest ways in which they can improve. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

This feedback: Describes what happened – the player had the ball, looked around to see who was in a good position to receive it and then disposed of it, but on occasions failed to do so accurately. Provides an evaluation – the player was clearly aware, made very good use of her knowledge about where players were positioned, selected an appropriate player to pass the ball to, but disposal was not always accurate. Provides guidance about how performance could be improved in the future – drills to focus on improving ball disposal. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Grades Grades are designed to define the student's progress and provide information about the skills that he/she has or has not acquired. Nevertheless, grades are often not detailed enough to give parents or the student him/herself a thorough understanding of what the he/she has actually learned or accomplished (Wiggins, 1994; Hall, 1990). For example, if a child receives a B in spelling, a report card comment can inform the parent that the child is generally a good speller; however, she consistently forgets to add an ‘es’ to plural nouns ending with the letters, s and x. Thus, teacher comments often convey whatever information has not been completely explained by the grade. ( Buraldi 1998) NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Comments ( 1 ) Well written comments can give parents and children guidance on how to make improvements in specific academic or social areas. For example, the teacher who wrote the previous report card comment on spelling may also wish to include that practising how to write the different plural nouns at home, or playing different spelling games, may help the child to enhance her spelling skills. ( Buraldi 1998) NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Comments ( 2 ) The process of writing comments can also be helpful to teachers. Writing comments gives teachers opportunities to be reflective about the academic and social progress of their students. This time of reflection may result in teachers gaining a deeper understanding of each student's strengths and needs. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

What types of wording should teachers include in their comments? The use of specific comments encourages positive communication between teachers, parents, and students. Written in a positive and informative manner, comments can address a variety of issues, while still maintaining the dignity of the child. This is especially important if a child has had difficulty with a particular subject area, or controlling his/her behaviour over an extended period of time. Shafer (1997) compiled a list of "effective" comments from a variety of teachers. The following lists of words and phrases are just a sampling from her publication "Writing Effective Report Card Comments" (p ). NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Word Choice Words that promote a positive view of the student thorough caring shows commitment improved tremendously has a good grasp of Words and phrases to use to convey that a child needs help could profit by requires finds it difficult at times to needs reinforcement in has trouble with NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Words and phrases that teachers should be cautious of using When teachers write comments on report cards, they need to be cognisant of the fact that each child has a different rate of social and academic development. Therefore, comments should not portray a child's ability as fixed and permanent (Shafer, 1997). Such comments do not offer any reason to believe that the child will be successful if he/she attempts to improve. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Words to Avoid or Use with Caution Also, teachers must be sensitive to the fact that students will read their comments. If negative comments are made, teachers must be aware that those comments may be counterproductive. In addition to the previously mentioned positive comments, Shafer (1997) compiled a list of words and phrases that should be avoided or used with caution. unable can’t won’t always never NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Information sources to which teachers should look when writing report card comments Teachers should have a plethora of sources from which they can derive information on each child to support the comments that are made on report cards. Teachers need these in order to provide specific information on the different strengths and weaknesses of each child. The most commonly used sources of information are examples of student work and test results. In addition to these traditional sources, teachers also use formal and informal student observations. ( Buraldi 1998) NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Useful Tips in Comment Writing NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Use plain language It is important for teachers to use jargon-free language when writing reports for parents. The words selected should be easily understood by the school community, rather than professional terminology. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Example of Plain Language Leigh demonstrates attentive listening skills within the classroom. She listens while others present news and asks relevant questions. Leigh is developing a growing understanding of reading skills and strategies. She participates in the shared and guided reading of a variety of different books. Leigh uses her knowledge of grammar and sounds to assist her reading. She can write simple stories using full stops and capital letters. Next year she may begin to write longer descriptions of people, places and animals. Leigh can draw a set of pictures to show a sequence for a procedure. Leigh needs to further develop her handwriting skills, especially the formation of letters. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Example of Professional Dialogue Leigh demonstrates attentive listening skills within the classroom. She listens while others present news and asks relevant questions. Leigh is developing a growing understanding of reading skills and strategies. She participates in the shared and guided reading of visual and written texts. Leigh uses her knowledge of grammatical structure and phonological awareness to assist her reading. She can write simple stories using full stops and capital letters. Next year she may begin to write longer descriptions of people, places and animals. Leigh can create a sequence of visual images to illustrate a procedure. Leigh needs to further develop her handwriting skills, especially the formation of letters. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Develop a Style Guide Reports are official school documents, bearing the school’s logo and written for the parents. As such, they must be of the highest quality, recognisable and readable by the school’s community. Self editing is an important part of the reporting process. During self editing procedures, reports should be read aloud, which makes it easier to check on spelling, grammar and punctuation. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Use evidence in comments Reports of judgements made about student achievement must be based on quality evidence of what each student has actually achieved against syllabus standards. The evidence that leads to the overall judgement of the achievement level provides the detail for the written comments about areas of strength and areas for further development. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Focus on Key Aspects It is not possible to include comments on all aspects of the learning program in every report, so it is important to identify those aspects of achievement that are the most important. Evaluate the range of aspects of the student’s achievement and improvements required in order to select the most important matters for the report. The content of the report comment should make links between the areas of achievement specific to that KLA, student strengths and areas for further development. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Comment Structure The comment will identify areas of strength and areas for further development in each key learning area/subject. The comment in this section should focus specifically on achievement against syllabus standards. It is important to avoid comments that only relate to a student’s task completion or other issues unrelated to achievement. Information included in the areas for further development should provide a clear picture of necessary next steps for the student. This advice should be manageable and realistic. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

General Comment Report comments should be written in a positive tone. There is always something positive to say about a student. Too many negatives may be counter-productive and cause the student to “turn off” from his/her learning. Use the information from the Other School Activities, Commitment to Learning and Social Development grids to elaborate on and construct the general comment. NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre

Report Writing Checklist Report AreaActions to completeCompleted KLA CommentsIdentifies areas of strength in each KLA Identifies areas for further development in each KLA Comments focus on the most important aspects General CommentWritten in a positive tone Expands on ‘Other School Activities’, ‘Commitment to Learning’ and ‘Social Development’ Other School ActivitiesRecorded Commitment to LearningRecorded Social DevelopmentRecorded OverallReport is written in clear, plain language No repetition of comments Comment matches overall achievement and effort Absences Signed Self EditingSpelling Grammar Punctuation NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre