In the latest edition of "Teacher, Teacher!" on CHEX Daily, I chatted with hosts Teresa Kaszuba and Mike Judson about this report, and what it all means.
I'm at the 31:57 mark if it doesn't play at the right spot for you, and if you can't see the embedded video you can find it here: http://youtu.be/5BY5m-54Zec?t=31m57s
Video courtesy CHEX Daily
A couple of other important notes about the progress report:
- There's only one checkbox for Language (on the Term reports Language is broken down into Reading, Writing, Oral Communication and Media Literacy) and one for Math (whereas on the next report you'll see it divided into five different strands). This can make it tricky for teachers, because sometimes there's a huge difference between how a student is progressing in Oral Communication compared to Writing, but we only get one spot to provide a checkmark.
- Kindergarten students do NOT receive this progress report. Different boards, schools and teachers may have their own ways of reporting, but the formal Ministry report starts with students in Grade 1.
To end with a personal opinion:
Any communication you receive from the school about your child's progress is vitally important. While there is certainly a place for official paperwork, the progress report is not the only information from your child's teacher. Phone calls, agenda notes, and samples of work/success criteria sent home are also very valuable ways to be informed about your child's progress, and the communication needs to go both ways. Be sure to call or write a note at any time if you have a question or concern about how your child is doing.
Once you have the report card, the next logical topic is the parent/teacher interview...and I'll be talking about that when I'm back on CHEX Daily in two weeks!