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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think school reports are a load of shit

93 replies

shortofbread · 08/06/2012 23:18

My dd1 who is 5 has had her first ever report card. It doesn't have one positive statement in it.

Anything verging on positive shot down by words like 'sometimes' and 'generally'

She is 5 ffs.

The statement that really makes me want to laugh and cry all at the same time is 'Little Miss Shortofbread is sometimes confused by processes but she generally works well once the process has been clearly understood'!

Is it just me?

OP posts:
HowlonguntilFriday · 09/06/2012 09:12

Teacher speak for - I actually find her quite amusing but can't be seen to be doing so, so I have had to tell her off occasionally.

Ithinkitsjustme · 09/06/2012 09:12

My 13 year old DS2 cam ehome with a cooment on his report stating that he was working well at maths and achieving all his targets. He got dropped a group that week. When I asked my son how that had happened he told me that his tutor had asked HIM what he could write as a comment and he thought he'd see how stupid his tutor was! Point proven, methinks!

frasersmummy · 09/06/2012 09:35

last year was ds's first school report.. it was a big story .. in this term we learned about winter, in this term we learned about scotland etc.. well thats nice but how is ds getting on
then we had stuff like ds can add numbers within 20 and he knows all his sounds right well does that make him a genius or a dunce??!!

I dont expect a comparison to other kids i just expect a general.. well this is what he should be able to do and this is is what he can actually do...

I asked them about it and was told does the word secure appear in the final box.. yes .. then he is doing fine...wtf??

thebody · 09/06/2012 10:07

Thank you howlong, I like that interpretation.

treadheavily · 09/06/2012 10:10

Our reports are divided into sections for always, sometimes and occasionally - maybe your child's are too?

ReportMeNow · 09/06/2012 10:17

In the good old days, I used to get a report that ranked you within the class for the end of year test for each subject, alongside the comment...can you imagine the uproar if they did that now? Grin Secretly that's I think parents want to know, rather than they are level 5c.

exoticfruits · 09/06/2012 10:19

When I started writing reports I just got a blank sheet and could write whatever I liked and they were much more valuable. Now they are split into sections and they all have something very general in it. The only part worth reading is the teacher's comment at the end.

everlong · 09/06/2012 10:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JumpingThroughHoops · 09/06/2012 10:26

My sons school does rank order.

All well and good if you are at the top end but those who have genuine SN and can never hope to achieve in a mainstream school, frankly its cruel and demoralising. Same with the holy grail of 5 A*-Cs, some cant even read, won't ever be able to read.

ginmakesitallok · 09/06/2012 10:27

we got DDs report yesterday - and as it was glowing I firmly believe that it is 100% true and accurate and personalised

OddBoots · 09/06/2012 10:30

I do prefer a report card with numbers on, one number for grade of work (Or NC level), one for effort put in and one for behaviour, then a short comment. Much more useful for knowing what is what.

ReportMeNow · 09/06/2012 10:37

Jumping, thought that kind of thing had gone out with the ark for precisely that reason. Otoh, the statement bank and working at, below or above expectation are pretty meaningless too,
"Well done ds, you're working at expectation, woo hoo"
"Mater, what can I do to ensure I am working beyond expectation?"
"It says you need to strengthen your number bonds"

IndigoBell · 09/06/2012 10:39

I wish they'd dispense with all the euphemisms. I can't understand what they're trying to say!

I know my children have problems, and in same cases are doing incredibly badly - why can't the report say that?

Makes me very, very cross.

Although last year the teacher was a bit more honest and admitted that DD had learnt nothing in history and ICT.

Doubt this years teacher will have the same balls. Will be interesting to find out how he writes 'DD has made no progress in literacy' this year.

sensuallettuce · 09/06/2012 10:44

Do teachers not use a computer program to produce these anyway?

DS1 was in a class with a friends son and we compared their reports and they were virtually identical Hmm.

At high school we get a card full of scores with no writing on it Hmm.

Original poster
shortofbread · 09/06/2012 10:46

In so many countries children don't even start to read until 6 or 7. They don't end up being any worse of for this. They catch up very quickly with those who started to read at 4 or 5.

My dd was 4 when she started school. She reads the same stuff my ds was reading at this stage and he now reads 'beyond the expected level for his stage'. I think perhaps teachers should bear this in mind before sending home a report card for a 5 year old that is full of negatives.

She is not a difficult child, far from it, easiest of my 3 and she is one of two in her year group. Yet statements within the report are just not accurate. Not impressed at all and makes me wonder what is going on in the classroom.

OP posts:
TheMonster · 09/06/2012 10:47

We don't have to write reports at our current school, but I fondly remember one place I worked where we would have a challenge among staff to see who could write the most which actually meant nothing.

TheMonster · 09/06/2012 10:49

You've hit the nail on the head, shortofbread: "makes me wonder what is going on in the classroom". No child is the same in school as they are at home. What the teacher sees of your child will be very different to what you see.
Doesn't excuse the negative and generic report, though.

CrunchyFrog · 09/06/2012 10:53

It's tricky to write reports, you are not really encouraged to write anything negative, so they do become wishy washy.

I used to do positive, positive, negative, positive. Took HOURS. No comment banks, I was working with children who had very severe SN, too individual.

I am looking forward to DS1's report, last time I spoke to his teacher she was terribly impressed that he could count forwards and backwards to 20. I know he is actually doing yr.4 work (in year 1) (my Mum is a primary teacher and keeps testing him!) But his teacher hasn't noticed. And apparently, he doesn't have autism, he's just "odd." Lovely woman. And did you know that all 6 year old boys have screaming, headbutting, kicking tantrums if you ask them to go to bed without adequate warning? Oh yes.

I am looking forward to a new teacher next year.

wineoclocktimeyet · 09/06/2012 10:55

My DS is obviously a genius as, according to his report card 2 years ago, he managed to change from a 'he' in Literacy and IT to a 'she' in Numeracy.

I was so proud Wink

ByTheWay1 · 09/06/2012 11:03

OP -sounds like teacher speak for a bit of a dreamer - my girls were totally away with the fairies for 3 years - this year I got "does not listen to a word I say when teaching" ... which I thought was interesting as I must have a genius on my hands - put forward for level 6 testing in maths and reading.....

She learned it all herself then, not by listening to the teacher!! Never had a good report, but she must be learning just fine!!

tiggytape · 09/06/2012 11:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lovebunny · 09/06/2012 11:11

school reports. hate them, hate writing them. we are told never to tell the truth it must always be positive. so 'your child is academically weak and extremely lazy' becomes 'he is making progress when his interest is stimulated'.

thebody, at least your teacher knows your dd!

Juniper904 · 09/06/2012 16:48

They're also really hard to write if the previous teacher has been overly positive. I'm writing them now but check last year's to see if they're too similar. Seems like my class were all super intelligent gods with no behaviour issues at all... They all exceeded national curriculum levels across the board and she will "genuinely miss" every one of them... So how do I follow that?!

Me: Your kid is a cheeky little so-and-so
Parents: well that's news to us
Me: Hmm

BoneyBackJefferson · 09/06/2012 19:13

I used to write personalised reports, given honest appraisals of pupils and their ability.

After various complaints from parents, some to the HT, I know write them entirely in teacher speak. It actually takes longer than it used to.

flexybex · 09/06/2012 19:50

......school reports are a load of shit......

Sorry - this all grates a bit.
This week I have written approximately 900 x 30 = 27000 words about literacy and numeracy, plus 'general' personal comments. Each report took about 45 minutes to complete, which is about 24 hours' work. I haven't used a report-writing program because I like the reports to sound personal.
I'm afraid I have to own up to the fact that I have cut and paste when commenting on children who work or behave in a similar manner.
I am pig sick of the bloody things.

Please, please have a heart, and complain at a different time of year. Sad