If You’re Having Trouble Understanding Your Child’s School Report, Here Are the Questions You Should Ask Their Teacher.
As the school term wraps up, you may be receiving a report on your child’s progress.
This is the key way schools communicate with parents about how students are going. But some parents find them difficult to understand. Why is this? And what are some questions you could ask your child’s teacher to understand how they are really going?
Why Are Reports Important?
School reports help parents stay engaged in their child’s schooling. They help parents to set and maintain high expectations, talk to their child about school, and support and encourage their learning.
All of these strategies have been shown to help students do better academically. So the quality and accessibility of information in reports is very important for students’ education.
How Can You Follow Up With the School?
If you’ve read the explanatory detail in your child’s report and still have questions, you should feel confident to talk to your child’s teacher.
Here are some questions you could ask, depending on the kind of report your school uses:
If Grades Are Used…
- How are grades determined? Are they an average of performance across a set of tasks? If so, which tasks are used in this calculation, and how were they weighted?
- Are grades based on how well each child meets curriculum outcomes (also called “criterion-referenced”) or how they compare to their peers (“norm-referenced”)?
- Should grades be interpreted as indicating whether your child is working at, above, or below the curriculum-expected standard?
In most regions, grades reflect overall performance on learning tasks aligned with the curriculum standard for the child’s age group. This assumes – perhaps incorrectly – that all children are working at the year-level standard to varying levels of proficiency, represented by letter grades A to E.
If Performance Labels Are Used…
- Ask what constitutes “developing,” “above expectations,” “satisfactory,” or whichever terms are used (if the school hasn’t already defined these terms in the report).
- Can worded performance descriptors be “translated back” into the A to E scale? And if not, why not?
If Descriptive Comments Are Used…
- What does it mean if your child “has” done this or “can” demonstrate that? Does this mean they are operating at, above, or below the curriculum-expected level?
- How well have they done these things? What haven’t they demonstrated—and is this because they were unable to, or because those skills and knowledge were not assessed during the reporting period?
- Do the comments that indicate areas for improvement constitute general advice, or are they specifically targeted to reflect your child’s next steps for learning?
Ask About Progress
Regardless of how well your child is performing, ask the teacher if – in their view – your child is making an expected or acceptable level of progress, and what evidence supports that view.
Progress is different from performance – it indicates the growth your child is making in their learning over time, regardless of their starting point or grades. It’s the difference in knowledge, skill, sophistication, or proficiency your child could demonstrate before versus what they can demonstrate now.
While performance has traditionally been the focus of student reports, it’s important to understand if your child is making progress in their learning. This ensures they are developing in their skills and knowledge and being appropriately challenged to meet their potential.
Remember: The way you approach the teacher is important. You both want the best for your child, so be careful with your tone – enquire, don’t attack.
