Does The Old School Report Have A Future?
This question was posed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) a few years ago as they embarked on a major study looking into the effectiveness of school reporting and the best ways to communicate information about student learning to parents and carers.
Professor Geoff Masters, in his introduction to the review of student reporting in Australia, writes:
A significant concern is that parents and carers reported paying little attention to much of the content of student reports. They often focus only on written comments, ignoring other reported information. They are critical of what they see as educational jargon, reports that simply reproduce material from curriculum documents, and comments that are exclusively positive. And they may see reports as outdated by the time they arrive. Parents and carers want information about how students are tracking against expectations, whether they are making good progress, and what they can do to support next steps in learning.
While acknowledging the importance of effective communication of student achievement and progress to parents and families, teachers too, question the value of their many hours of work and effort that go into the construction of reports at the end of each semester.
In response, the College formed a professional learning team (PLT) in 2019 aimed at investigating alternatives to the ‘old school report’. The team includes Key Learning Area (KLA) coordinators and teachers from several subject areas as well as representatives from the Leadership and Management teams. New technologies enable schools to provide more continuous, personalised information about students and their learning and the Continuous Reporting PLT was established to research and investigate the best way forward for St Patrick’s College.
The voices of our key stakeholders – teachers, students and parents - is important in understanding our future needs related to effective communication of student progress.
Parents and carers – your feedback is highly valued. This questionnaire seeks feedback on your views on the future of academic reporting at St Patrick's College for Girls. The questionnaire will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and it begins with a short video introduction that explains the current reports as well as thinking around future possibilities. The video is included below. Follow this link to have your say on the future of school reporting at St Patrick’s College for Girls.
Debra Bourne - Leader of eLearning and Library Services