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Does your child’s school mail home progress reports? My daughter’s does. I don’t find them particularly helpful, however.
“A pleasure to have in class.” “Doing good work.” “Inconsistent results on tests and quizzes.” OK. I guess this tells me that she’s not a trouble-maker (which I already knew) and is polite and respectful in class; and that her grades will be “good,” although perhaps “inconsistent.”
It seems to me that a progress report should include the student’s average at the time the report was compiled (in fairness, one of her teachers did this). It should indicate whether they’re keeping up with homework. And it should explain how serious the “inconsistent” results on tests and quizzes are and whether the student is in need of extra help.
I realize that teachers are, for the most part, overworked. These progress reports are designed so that they can do them quickly simply by checking the pre-written comments that apply to the student in question. Maybe it’s unrealistic for me to think they could be designed to offer more helpful information to parents. After all, if we’re concerned, teachers today are generally only an e-mail away.
But how about taking a look at the categories on these reports? Let’s give teachers some different options they can check: “Grade average is between 90 and 100.” “Grade average is between 70 and 80.” “Completes homework on a regular basis.” “Needs to attend after-school helping period.” “Is easily distracted in class.” “Listens well to the teacher/instructions.”
Much more helpful than “A pleasure to have in class” don’t you think?

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