Reporting Progress
Teachers are often asked to report on pupils’ progress in learning English. Stakeholders, such
as the English coordinator and the school principal, the English inspector or counselor may
request such data. Even more importantly, pupils and their parents require such feedback.
How should such information gathered on progress be reported? Traditionally this is outlined
in a general report card with a section on English, summarizing the pupils’ achievements
during a specified period of time. It is usually a numerical evaluation (the average of different
scores), with or without a brief standardized comment (Good, Satisfactory, etc.).
However, the following questions must be addressed:
1. Can the complex group of abilities required for language proficiency be reliably
represented by a simple numerical average (considering averages conceal relevant
information about performance on different kinds of task on different occasions)?
2. Does the traditional report card give useful information about what a pupil has learned
or is able to do?
3. Does it detail how the pupil can improve?
4. Does it provide information about what abilities and knowledge, or which assessment
criteria, the summative grade is based on?
5. Is this limited reporting format compatible with a standards-based curriculum which
bases English achievement on what pupils can do with the language in four defined
domains of use, and requires integrating varied traditional and alternative assessment
tools?
6. What message does the traditional report card format convey to pupils and parents
about the school’s philosophy of evaluation of achievement and effort?
Addressing these questions will probably lead to the realization that there is room for
improvement in our formats for reporting progress. Verbal descriptions (based on explicit
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criteria and multiple sources of information) provide information which is far more
meaningful than the numerical grades or standardized short judgments typical of report cards.
A school or staff integrating performance-based teaching and assessment into its syllabus,
should consider either changing the format of their report card, or preparing an English
supplement with a profile of language abilities. Moreover, a less superficial report indicates the
school has prioritized individual pupil evaluation.
If it is not possible to compile a complete profile for each pupil, the traditional average grade
should be replaced with several differential grades, for example, one for improvement, others
for progress toward the different curriculum standards in the various domains.
Additional positive steps:

including significant non-linguistic criteria in the school report, such as the ability
to work independently and in a group, active participation, progress, investment
and, where relevant, bringing books and equipment

addressing comments directly to pupils rather than their parents

eliciting pupils’ and parents’ response and signatures

pupils’ self-assessment – pupils write a letter to their parents outlining
achievements, efforts and progress, and defining new goals.
“Changing report cards to accurately illustrate a child’s progress is one of the most important challenges facing
teachers using authentic assessment.” (Winograd and Perkins, 1995, p. 7)
According to Winograd and Perkins, a report card should:
*give pupils and parents a clear statement of the school’s expectations and teaching goals
*focus on development/growth
*avoid harmful labels
*constructively address problematic areas
*provide space for specific teacher comments (“narrative descriptions”)
*include space for parental response
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*include rubrics that demonstrate levels of performance
The section on Classroom Assessment Tools provides examples of several formats to report
progress in English. These should be seen as suggestions, not official forms.

a pupil’s profile for the end of the 6th grade (based on the Foundation
level benchmarks in the Curriculum), which can be used to assess
readiness for the junior-high school (pp. 76-77)

a supplementary profile for emergent readers (p. 78)

a sample report card for 5th grade/Foundation level stage 2 (based on
benchmarks for the Foundation level in the Curriculum), currently being
piloted in the Northern District, which can be adapted by teachers to
their own targeted benchmarks (p. 79)

a sample report card for high school use which can be adapted by
teachers to their own targeted benchmarks (p. 80)
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