She said that after the introduction of A to E requirements more than a decade ago, report comments started to include references to achievement level descriptions contained in the Australian syllabus. But she said in other cases, some parents did not want anything written about their child “other than that their child is doing exemplary work”.
“Some parents are uncomfortable with their idea that their child is not exemplary. None of us are exemplary all the time,” she said.
The new guidelines also contain optional structures for teachers to rate how much effort a student puts into schoolwork ranging from low to high. Reporting on effort, which has been commonplace in some schools for many years, remains optional.
“Feedback from parents and carers indicates that they appreciate insights into their child’s effort,” the guidance says.
Falkenberg said effort – whether the ability to stick with a tricky assignment or to keep trying with a maths problem until it was complete – was sometimes a bigger indicator of success than IQ alone.
“All those things take perseverance and some of the concerns of educators, with parents who try to smooth the way for children, is that they take away the opportunity to develop that persistence and grit,” she said.
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Teachers have also been told “comments should avoid discussing behaviour unless it is directly relevant to areas of strength, development or commitment to learning”.
Teachers have also been told that they must write the reports themselves but that they may use an internal artificial intelligence chatbot to “support them”.
Australian Tutoring Association president Mohan Dhall warned against using artificial intelligence to assist with writing comments as it compromised a teacher’s ability to deeply reflect on student performance.
“If someone defaults to AI, they’re effectively saying, ‘I cannot myself articulate what I need to say about a child’, effectively undermining one of the most basic teaching standards, [which is] know your students and how they learn,” Dhall said.
In 2021, research by Catholic Schools NSW found many parents found teacher comments the most useful aspect of a report but that they wanted them to be clear and honest.
P and C Federation chief executive Gemma Quinn said parents had said reports could be difficult to interpret.
“Parents are far more likely to engage with and act on reports when they’re written in plain language and clearly reflect their child’s individual progress and areas for growth,” she said. “The move towards clearer, more accessible reporting will strengthen the partnership between families and schools.”
P and C Federation president Aresha Quaass said the changes were a big step forward in making school reports “more parent-friendly, more meaningful, and more supportive of genuine communication between families and schools”.
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