Communicating Assessment
Results
Educators should communicate assessment results with both
students and parents/guardians. Even though there are three formal reporting
periods, communication with students and parents/guardians about the students’
achievement should be constant and continuous throughout the school year. This
can be done by conferences, portfolios of student work, interviews, phone
calls, informal reports, etc.
Grades 1 to 10
Ongoing and Effective
Communication
Teachers engage in assessment for learning and assessment as
learning. This allows for the establishment of a positive relationship between teachers,
parents/guardians and students. Also, it involves parents/guardians as partners
in a conversation about learning and assessment, and what they can do to
support their child’s learning. Finally, it identifies concerns about student
progress early in the school year which will lead to developing strategies to
improve student learning.
Teachers communicate assessment results though Provincial
Report Cards. In addition to this letter grade or percentage mark, teachers
also provide descriptive feedback through comments indicating what students
have learned and need to learn as well as providing guidance to help students
improve their learning.
Equitable and Inclusive
Communication
Ontario has a diverse society. Therefore there may be
challenges in communicating with some parents/guardians. Educators may need to
involve interpreters or other community support personnel to aid in
communicating information about student achievement and progress to the parents/guardians.
Effective Report Card
Comments
Report card comments should be personalized, precise, clear
and meaningful. Firstly, effective comments focus on and refer to specific
aspects of knowledge and skills of the student or on the learning skills and
work habits. It also focuses on strengths that the student has demonstrated and
should try to continue to demonstrate. Teachers need to provide key next steps
for improvement that address the student’s most significant learning needs, provide
concrete next steps for the student, provide specific suggestions for how
parents/guardians can support the student’s learning or the development of
learning skills and work habits. Additionally, effective comments should be
tailored to each individual student and refer to specific evidence of learning
or skill development gathered from observations and student assignments. It should
also refer to the student’s interests, learning preferences and readiness to
learn. Next, effective comments
should be written in clear and simple language using vocabulary that is easy to
understand by both the student and parents/guardians.
Special Considerations
Teachers need to provide clear, individual and meaningful
comments to all students. However, the comments for some students need to
address special considerations. For example, English language learners, special
education needs, those students whose achievement of the curriculum
expectations falls below level 1 and students who have insufficient information
to provide a grade will require special considerations.
Kindergarten
The Kindergarten
Report
The kindergarten reports offer clear, meaningful information
about the child’s learning, three formal opportunities to hear from the child’s
educators throughout the school year and a basis for supporting ongoing
communication between home and school.
Initial Observations
Report
The initial observations report is sent home between late
October and November. The goal is to provide an overview of the observations of
the child’s learning since the beginning of the school year. This is important
because it helps to build a positive relationship between educators and parents/guardians
with the goal of achieving educational success.
The Communication of
Learning Report
This report is organized according to the four parts or
“frames” of the 2016 Kindergarten
Program: Belonging and Contributing, Self-Regulation and
Well-Being, Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviours and Problem
Solving and Innovating.
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