To ask what you hate reading in school reports.

[Pipbin]

I am a teacher but I have no DC. I am in the middle of writing reports. I never ever copy and paste as that is rude. The nicest comment a parent ever made about my reports was that she could tell it was about her child and that I really knew them.
My question is, what phrases and cliches do you hate reading in your DCs reports?

I haven't RTT, but as a secondary teacher I have 175 reports to write, so hell yes, I C&P. Obviously I also personalise the report by tailoring and adjusting it to the individual student. If I individually wrote every report I wouldn't have time to plan my teaching of those children, which would be missing the point somewhat.

Pipbin, I have skimmed but not read the whole thread. My strongest thought is, people often ask for the truth and say they can take it. They, almost invariably cannot take it. People are very sensitive about their children. I'd tread carefully.

"DD is a very vocal and opinionated child, she does however need practice in when this is appropriate" every report so far, although the fact she needs to learn to shut up and stop being a little madam is what annoys me rather than the teacher saying it.

"DS is very quiet, he is reluctant to assert himself and needs encouragement to voice opinions in class". DS is not reluctant to assert himself, he'd never get heard over DD otherwise. He is just too polite to shout over people, so that's basically writing a report saying 'I can't control my class and your DS is getting over looked because of it.'

If you have anyone in your class whose older sibling you've also taught don't mention the older sibling, my poor youngest sister has a teacher this year who has taught a few of us and got a comment in her report saying "sis is a typical 'xihha's-surname' child, she is quiet, polite, hard working and a pleasure to teach." she cried her eyes out as she hates being compared to the rest of us, she's the youngest of 8 and would quite like people to remember that she is actually a person in her own right not just mini-xihha, she spent a week being the loudest, rudest, naughtiest child ever just to prove her point.

Xihha - I like your daughters style!

As well as how they are generally, I want to know specifics about levels of achievement and objectives.

I want to know their strong points and weak points and it would be nice to have some ideas of what we would be best to concentrate on for support at home.

I want to be able to tell that it is written about my DS, not generic phrases that could apply to 75% of the class.

I expect that you are damned if you do and damned if you don't in terms of reports.
Personally, I don't like to see spelling mistakes.
Also, if the child is not doing very well in a certain subject, maybe an indication about what s/he might do to improve and what interventions will be put in place.

I like mine to be succinct and highlight what the major weaknesses and positives are. What the child needs to do in order to improve or what parents/carers can do to support or stretch the child at home.

None of it should be a major surprise.

I could type out one of my children's old report for a 'what not to do'. They've all been mentioned though!
Most have been excellent (well written by a great teacher, that is)

Have you nearly finished them Pipbin or have you yet to start?

My husband has brought in a section in secondary for the students in GCSE and a level years to add their own reflection of the term and areas they want to develop and add comments about themselves. The student council is pushing for KS2 and 3 to have the same in theirs which is hopefully going to start next year.

Havent rtft
But I most certainly could have done with reading "mini rumple spends a lot of time looking out of the window and chatting to friends".
Didnt find this out until, quite frankly, too late.

Having to read between the lines and work out what they really mean.

Knowing that most of it is just a lot of stock phrases.

The best bits are the more personal comments which show you they have actually sussed your child out as an individual.

As a parent, I would love to see the exact levels that my dcs have achieved (eg 2b, 4c etc...) as well as a reminder of what is the minimum level that should be attained that year. (one poster was saying that as a teacher she can tell how well her dcs are doing. Well, as a non teacher, I can't so it's pretty meaningless to me).
Or maybe a list of what the child should have achieved and what he/she has done (stating if it's above or under that level)

I would also much prefer a true picture of what is going on. So not telling me that dc2 is doing ok and his reading is fine when he actually can't understand what you are telling him and is well behind all his peers. Reception teacher I am looking at you!

TBH, a system where you would have just the level achieved and a two words to describe the child in each category (reading, maths etc...) with a comment of what needs to be improved and what is going OK If that's needed ta all) would be my choice but I am aware that this is NOT what the teachers are told to do.

Another child I didnt find until late enough, that she was not raising her hand in class very often to answer the teacher's questions.

Perhaps should say that I am essentially talking about kids who are in secondary school.
But I would think it does equally apply to those in primary?

theodorus, the dcs at out primary already do that. Or rather they put what they know/think the teacher is expecting them to write...

And YY to the 'guessing' what the teacher wants to say.... Unfortunately, I also know that teachers are also trying to protect themselves from parents being very upset because they've written that their precious dc is not listening/never does homework/always disruptive and it's clear that 'little darling would never do that'....

This is a really good thread and very insightful for teachers.

I am a secondary school teacher and I dread report time. I teach 15 different classes. That is around 450 children. Sometimes copy and paste is necessary.

I would love a fluff-free report (save for a tiny paragraph at the end, but even that I could do without).

I want the absolute truth, the good bad & the ugly.

I want to know where my (older) children fall in the class - why is this kind of information frowned up? I can't interpret scores in a vacuum.

The worst I've seen is "Although I have not seen much of XXXX's work, XXX appears to have a methodical and careful approach to her work" - why the blazes not? The same teacher taught them from September!

the same teacher set a target to 'think ideas through more carefully before starting work' - based on what?!

For primary school though, they are writing up to 30 reports not 450 and should know the children very well individually.

It's also about the things that aren't there.
In 5 years, not one report has mentioned the social difficulties that dc2 has (even though one teacher mentioned it to me verbally). Even though these difficulties have been serious enough to warrant an AS diagnosis (amongst other issues of course).

But you know, dc2 is quiet and doesn't disturb the class so....

I very much like our school, and even the reports usually make some sense.

But the ones that just have a number code for 'effort, behaviour, achievement, homework' can be baffling. Last year DS had a French report that went (decoded) 'Effort poor, behaviour adequate, achievement poor, homework poor' but then 'Target grade B, teacher assessment grade A, exam grade A*' -- so what exactly did the 'poor achievement' mean?

(In fact, I assume it meant 'does bugger all and is clearly capable of better things'...)

I would actually prefer a short termly report with levels, and then an end of year report with a bit of fluff about what they have achieved this year and what they need to continue to develop.

But, I am a Governor, and know that this simply won't happen in our school. So, I just like to see a report that actually knows my child - which is thankfully what we always get.

The hardest one I had was a report that said that my son never ever smiled at school. I actually cried. The teacher was also upset, because she didn't really appreciate that he smiled a lot at home, and his serious face wasn't his default face. We did cheer him up next year, but I wish that had been picked up at the end of the first term.

I want to know where my (older) children fall in the class - why is this kind of information frowned up? I can't interpret scores in a vacuum

Surely it should be enough/better to know what the average level is for the age group and what level your child is at?

Ranking can be meaningless and demotivating- you could have a class where kids are all at a similar high level but someone still has to be at the bottom.

My child (8) gets assessment marks and the year group median. It is useful to a point, in that you can see if they are above or below, but I would like to be told the range of marks or their place in the year group. Realise many people would not like that.

In secondary, older children have a challenge grade. This is a GCSE or A level grade they should aspire to and can achieve if working hard. We give a colour to indicate if they are on track for it. I think that is useful for parents.

I have always been told what level DD should aspire to by the end of the year in primary school at the first parents evening, what is the expected level for their age, and also what they have to do to get to the next sub-level etc. I don't give a monkeys about where they are in the class, it isn't a competition.

I'd like less words and more numbers tbh. Otherwise I have no idea if dc is behind or keeping up with the class.

I hate general comments like 'the class have surpassed level blah' because ultimately that doesn't tell me what my dc has done. Have they all worked to the same level? I doubt that, but I have no way of telling where my dc is in general class comments.

Also comments like 'x skill will develop with maturity' - does the teacher mean that or is it something I should be worried about? I have no idea.

I think teachers sometimes forget that parents don't know what level of attainment is expected at different age groups. Hence a report that says dc reads fluently doesn't tell me if dc is reading fluently at the same level as the class or not.

I remember fondly reports where there was a little table under each heading and it was easy to see where you had to work harder, etc.