Excellent performance! More effort needed! Pull up your socks! It is not too late to improve! You could have performed better if it was not for the bad company! Keep it up! Balance your efforts!

These are some of the common remarks written by teachers on students’ report cards at the end of each school term. As learners break off for third term holidays, these are some of the comments you may find on your child’s report card.

A report card is a document that communicates a student’s performance against a class size or set grades. In most cases, these grades are used to decide whether a learner is promoted to the next class or is asked to repeat.

On top of academic performance, a teacher makes remarks on the report card basing on discipline and other extracurricular activities.

Criteria for writing a report card

Edward Nkurikiyumukiza, the director of Remera Protestant School in Giporoso, says a report is generated by individual subject teachers after compiling all the students’ results from tests and exams.

"Subject teachers are responsible for generating individual comments but they always look out for the most appropriate comments,” says Nkurikiyumukiza.

But there’s a bit of caution when commenting about a student’s discipline.

"We do not put harsh comments on the report even for ill behaved students,” Nkurikiyumukiza says. "We instead insist on parents individually picking the reports so that they can discuss the student’s behaviour with the teachers.”

Olivier Sebatware, the education executive secretary parents’ committee in Muhazi Sector, Rwamagana also says such is the practice in his area and he explains why.

"Harsh comments are not put on a child’s report card because they can demoralise a learner which is not in anyone’s interest. The teacher-parent discussion is also necessary for the parents to understand their children better and see where they might need their help.”

What to look out for on a report card

Most parents tend to look out for only their children’s position and grades when they receive a report card but it should be more than that.

"Unfortunately someone who is only concerned about the position of their child within a class misses out on vital information,” says Nkurikiyumukiza.

Besides the student’s grades and class positions, a report may have extra information such as when the next term will begin, school dues for the following term and unpaid dues among others.

"The failure of a parent to scrutinise the report may result into a student being inconvenienced at the beginning of a term,” he cautions.

Why parents should pick report cards

Most parents do not go to school to collect the report cards of their children. Instead they stay home or at work and wait for their children to bring them the report. But should parents be interested in picking their children’s report cards anyway?

Shid Kabatesi, a parent, says it is every parents obligation to pick their children’s report cards personally after all it is only once in 3 months.

"I pick the report card myself and critically go through it with my daughter’s class teacher. It is through this discussion that I know what kind of support my girl needs in order to improve her performance.”

Maria Uwimpuwe, a teacher at College Ami desfants, also cautions parents against over trusting their children because some of them forge reports especially when the grades or comments are not the best.

"If a parent spares sometime to pick the report card by themselves at school, such bad behaviour will be averted. When a learner successfully forges a report, it is likely to happen again and even become part of their character in future. No one wants to see their child turn into a liar or conman.”

She, however, advises parents not to rough up their children when they perform poorly at school.

"Parents should understand how to deal with poor performance without being rude,” she says. But Juma Nuno, a senior six student at King David Secondary School, believes comments scare the learners even more than the grades.

"It is the comments that can force a student to change the information on a report. Just imagine a teacher saying that I have bad company or dodge class often. A student would have every reason to fear to take that report card home because the repercussions would be bitter,” Nuno says.

But Vital Mboningabo, a student in Muhanga, is even more specific.

"Any bad comment on my report can easily annoy my father and he stops paying my fees or take me to a bad school,” Mboningabo says.

However, not every student is worried about the comments on their report cards. Margret Busingye, a student of FAWE Girls School, says: "I have no problem with the teacher’s observations as long as they are genuine. I am also okay about being quizzed about my performance even if it’s very poor.”

What to make out of remarks

Michael Thompson, an American psychologist, says: "Teachers are always interested in how best they can teach your child so it is always important for parents to keep in touch with subject teachers.”

That’s why Thompson on picking report cards advises that: "Instead of focusing just on grades, focus on what your child loves, how he learns, and what he struggles with while thinking of specifics you can offer the teacher to help her teach your child.”

"If you have a report card to review, use it to brainstorm together how you can both support your child’s learning, instead of dissecting each grade. Ask how your child functions in the classroom as a person. Does he make friends? How does he resolve conflicts?”the psychologist explains.

********************

Who should pick the report card at school?

Emmanuel Rugwizangoga

I would prefer that parents pick the report cards personally. They get first hand information about their children. They can also interact with different subject teachers and find a way to help the child. And as a school, we always encourage parents to do that.

Christophe Gasheija

I think picking a report must only be the parents’ duty. This gesture shows how much a parent cares about their children’s performance and future. However it might be difficult for some parents staying very far from the school. But they can still manage with early planning.

Clementine Niyonsenga

Parents should be able to follow up on areas highlighted on the report. In fact the only way this is possible is by parents interacting regularly with school officials.

Olivier Ndahiriwe

Brilliant students are not worried about parents picking their reports. I believe parents should pick the report cards so that if the child is for instance a regular latecomer, they can explain why and be part of the solution.

Callixte Kamanzi

If both the child and parent are present all issues can easily be ironed out. Some parents may be too busy to follow up their children but once these issues are raised at school, the student will most likely improve. Parents should look at the grades but mostly the trend.

Faustine Nhamye

These days it is very important to closely monitor our children since they have so many distractions. That is why it is easy for a student to hide his report from the parent. The only way to minimise this is by involving parents in the academic life of their children.

Compiled by Solomon Asaba

********************************

Take note

Instead of focusing just on grades, focus on what your child loves, how he learns, and what he struggles with while thinking of specifics you can offer the teacher to help her teach your child. — psychologist

***********************

How to write a report card

Writing reports is undeniably one of most teachers’ least favourite party games; they are time-consuming, laborious and painstaking. They are also an important part of your job, so the simple answer to any grumbles must be - ‘tough’.

Reports are a legal requirement on the school, and an important organ of home/school communication. But they can also be seen as an opportunity to create a relationship between you and the family, and let them know about things that concern or delight you, and communicate ways forward in all cases.

Under no circumstances use the report card as an opportunity to settle scores with children; it’s deeply unprofessional, and a little pathetic for an adult to act this way. If the behaviour’s been bad, then it can be said in an unemotional and businesslike way. Besides, if the behaviour has been bad, then the parent should know about it already.

So when you write reports, see it as a chance to say things that are thoughtful, helpful and honest. Write professionally, because that’s what you are, or what you’re trying to convey. Don’t whine, or bitch or snip. Don’t gush either; unless a child is the Platonic ideal of dedication, manners, compassion and wisdom, there is always room for improvement, and the most talented children don’t benefit from empty praise that gives them no direction about how to progress. Of course, you can use it as an opportunity to let the parents know if they’ve been great, but don’t forget the ways forward.

Some schools use comment banks: IT-led responses to the reports that can be generated quickly from a database of pre-written sentences. This is faster, and removes the need for the reports to be spell checked; it also loses a degree of personalization. Other schools ask their teachers to write personal comments, which can make the report individual, but takes longer and is more prone to mistakes.

Such schools usually have a style guide, which will range from a light touch to draconian restrictions. Whatever your school does, follow it. Resist the temptation to cut and paste enormously, as it shows that you either aren’t aware of the pupil’s individual circumstances, or that you don’t care. Of course, it might also indicate you’re enormously busy, which you undoubtedly are, but such admin tasks are still your responsibility, so until robots write them for us, we’re stuck with them.

Get some time and space, get your head down and get them done.

Agencies