Reporting

Like record keeping, communicating to parents/carers about students’ progress and achievement in the form of reports is a legal obligation of teachers and schools. Reporting also provides an important opportunity to check in with students and parents/carers about the students’ particular needs and how they can improve their skills, knowledge and achievement. It allows parents/carers to be included in the teaching and learning process, which can be a positive step towards providing the learner with extra support outside the classroom but can also come with its own set of challenges when it comes to building productive relationships with parents/carers.

Churchill (2021, p. 424) argues that the most important “considerations when report writing” are to write “succinctly, truthfully and with the intended audience in mind”. This is important because students and parents/carers must be able to understand the reports in order for them to be of any use. They cannot be filled with jargon and terminology that parents/carers are unlikely to understand. Instead they should be written in clear and accessible ways. This is particularly relevant in my school context in which a majority of families speak English as an additional language. According to Churchill (2021, p. 424) one of the primary concerns of parents/carers is knowing whether there is anything “they should be worried about”. This is why reports must be honest about students’ effort and achievement even despite the difficult conversations that can arise as a result of a lacklustre report.

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References

Ash, S. L., & Clayton, H. (2009). Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in Applied Learning. Journal of applied learning in higher education, 1, 25-48. https://www.missouriwestern.edu/appliedlearning/wp-content/uploads/sites/116/2018/11/JALHE-1.pdf Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2009). Developing the theory of formative assessment. Educational Assessment, Evaluation & Accountability, 21(1), 5-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-008-9068-5 Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2018). Classroom assessment and pedagogy. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(6), 551-575. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2018.1441807 Chadbourne, R. & Pendergast, D. (2005). 'The philosophy of middle schooling'. In D. Prendergast & N. Bahr (Eds). Teaching Middle Years. (pp.21-47). Crows Nest. Allen & Unwin. Churchill, R. (2021). Teaching : Making a difference, 5th edition. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Dewey, J. (1916...
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