Having spent many years in the classroom, I remember well how stressful report-writing time can be, particularly with the pressure to ensure that each student receives personalised comments with meaningful reflections on their progress. With that in mind, I wanted to pass on practical tips for teachers to take advantage of the data available throughout the Intellischool Learner and Cohort profiles to springboard into detailed, data-backed comments for each student.
I often found that a focus on growth throughout report writing comments tended to be the most impactful for both students and parents to receive, while remembering the importance of highlighting areas for improvement going forward, and how the student can move towards these improvements.
I also appreciate that depending on your role, you may be looking for subject-specific information, or broader information such as pastoral trends for a given student. With this in mind, you'll find that some of my tips below will be more useful than others depending on your students' context. Regardless of whether you're looking for broad or specific information, you'll see that I've tied these comment suggestions back in with a focus on growth.
Happy report writing!
🤔 Questions to consider about the student:
📝 A sample comment:
"While it has been pleasing to see Matthew's overall attendance improve compared with last semester, he has had a number of absences from his General Mathematics class this semester, which may have led to the regression seen across his results for this subject. Matthew is encouraged to be proactive in seeking out additional support to ensure that he remains up-to-date during periods of absence."
🤔 Questions to consider about the student:
📝 A sample comment:
"Luella has made excellent progress in Chinese this semester, with her efforts resulting in an almost 15% increase from her average score last semester. She performed particularly well in her Unit 1 Speaking Assessment. Going forward, she is encouraged to focus on honing her already well-developed listening skills, and to seek out additional help as needed."
While I think it's important to be wary of commenting too extensively on standardised tests - which we know are often representative of a single instance of testing - there are opportunities to comment on growth where a similar standardised test has been repeated over time.
🤔 Questions to consider about the student:
📝 A sample comment:
"Tyson should be proud of the improvement he's shown over the past year as a result of his continuous efforts in Maths, which are reflected in his almost 17% increase on his Allwell Numeracy results. These efforts have also seen him increase his proficiency from 'At expectation' in 2022 to 'Above expectation' in 2023."
🌿 Schools using Performance (Secondary) Analytics will be able to view this tab.
🤔 Questions to consider about the student:
📝 A sample comment:
"On average across all learning domains, Elayna has shown a 7% decline in performance since last semester. In particular, she's shown an almost 30% decline in her Maths results. Given that Elayna has demonstrated that she is a capable student in Maths throughout previous years, she is encouraged to carefully reflect on any changes in her work habits, and to take initiative in seeking out guidance and support as needed."
🌿 Schools using Performance (Secondary) Analytics will be able to view this tab.
🤔 Questions to consider about the student:
📝 A sample comment:
"Kirra's average results for submitted work across all subjects this semester indicate that she is a capable student, with a particular aptitude for both German and Art. However, her work submission habits show that Kirra needs to carefully reflect on her organisation skills, as she has submitted a number of tasks late, and still has a number of tasks overdue. Kirra is strongly encouraged to make better use of the resources at her disposal, including her Student Diary and Help Desk sessions with her teachers to ensure that she is meeting set deadlines, and asking for additional support as needed."
Here are a few reminders for using this report to hone in on the most relevant and/or useful information for an individual student:
🤔 Questions to consider about the student:
📝 A sample comment:
"Andrew's results for English have declined this semester in comparison with his previous results. However, he produced strong scores throughout both NAPLAN and Allwell tests for reading and writing, indicating that he is a capable student with sound skills in these areas. Andrew is encouraged to carefully reflect on his work habits both in-class and during periods of revision at home, improvements to which may see him achieving results more reflective of his true capabilities in English."