How Do I Read My Child’s Progress Report? Copy

You may wonder: What does a progress report look like in kindergarten? What information is given, and how? When should I be concerned? What should I do if I have questions?

Reading a Progress Report

On your child’s report, you will see three different kinds of data.

Attendance

The first is simple: attendance. Your child’s absences and late arrivals will be recorded at the top. It is very typical for a student to miss a few days during a term as well as have 3-4 late arrivals. If you see more than that, particularly in terms of late arrivals, it may be worth reconsidering your morning routine. During distance learning, your child was marked as “late” or “leave early” if they were not at one of the Zoom meetings. 

Curriculum Summary

The second section is a summary of the fall term curriculum across subject areas.

This will review content, concepts, and skills taught throughout the term. This includes academic areas such as literacy, math, and science as well as specialty areas including music, PE, and art. While some content extends across the entire year, other areas are specific to the fall term.

Narrative

The third section is a narrative about the student’s progress since the beginning of the term. Each student’s narrative in kindergarten is composed of three sections: strengths, areas for growth, and goals.

Strengths

This section will share examples in which your child engaged across curriculum and showed progress in learning. It will describe your child’s academic, social, emotional, and physical progression throughout the term. This section will also highlight areas in which they are naturally gifted and passions they are drawn to. The aim of this first section is to paint a portrait of your child’s strong capabilities as a kindergartener.

Areas for Growth

All children have areas for growth, which are areas in which they can improve upon their skills and ability to learn and engage. This paragraph exists for all students, and it is often the length as the section above. This will describe observed areas in which your child can continue to practice and improve across curricular contexts as well as physical, social, and emotional domains. These areas, like strengths, are unique to each student.

Goals

The final section of the narrative includes specific goals for each student for the upcoming term. These will outline specific ways in which teachers and parents can help the student grow in academic, social, emotional, and physical domains. In all progress reports, it will include a recommendation for each student to be read to daily at home. This is the homework of kindergarten; each student should have the opportunity to hear and discuss quality literature each day. You should confidently read to your child in your native language as well; this provides a strong model for language and discussion.

Accessing Reports

Progress reports should be available by the morning of Thursday, December 3. You can view your child’s report through the family portal. If you have any difficulty accessing this, you can contact [email protected].

Follow-up

As you read, you might consider, as a parent:

Does this report sound like my child? What was new, or what was spot on?

What makes sense, and in what areas do I need clarity?

What concerns do I have that I’d like to discuss?

What is important for my child’s teachers to know?

What support, advice, or ideas do I need to help my child succeed?

We are happy to discuss any questions or comments you have over email. Your child’s teachers may request a conference with you to talk more in person, and you are certainly welcome to request a meeting as well.

We as teachers view each child with unlimited potential, with unique gifts, with specific talents and abilities. When we write about a child’s progress, it is with this perspective in mind. How can we, collaboratively as parents and teachers, help him reach his potential, use his gifts to express himself, use his talents to help others within a community?

Peace,

The Kindergarten Team