Report Card Survival Tips for First-Year Teachers

If you are in the midst of your first year of teaching or preparing to begin your career as a teacher, this article is for you! Report cards play an important role in the education and overall direction of each student. Understanding how to provide appropriate report card comments can help create a better year for both the teacher and student. Keep reading below for some report card tips for new teachers.

Begin Work on Report Cards Early

At report card time, there is a lot of information to sort through and put down into words for each of your students. Keeping a diary of each student’s progress, class participation, strengths, and weaknesses each week during the term can be beneficial when collecting information. Make it easier by beginning the report card comments early, possibly in the middle of the term if possible.

Learn to Prioritize Things

By being organized throughout the term, it will be easier to prioritize all of the information needed to form the report card. Concentrate on each student’s report focusing on each subject before moving onto the next. Once placing the final mark, form the comment around the grade.

Use Specific Examples

In the report card comments section, use examples of the student’s work to briefly explain where their weakness or strengths are found. Narrowing down the skills and abilities of the student can be done easily if you maintain a weekly report to track progress.

Avoid Repetition

By maintaining a collection of remarks on the individual student, repetition can be avoided. Many students will share similar abilities but each one deserves to have personalized comments on their report card. Customized report cards do not go unnoticed by students, parents, and other teaching staff as these comments can have a positive or negative effect on future studies.

Engage Parents

By engaging parents, you are inviting the student’s home support system to take a role in their educational development. Use the report card comment section to offer suggestions for ways parents can take an active role in helping the student achieve their goals. This can also help build solid communication between you and the parents.

Explain the Grades to the Students

Don’t forget to take the time to explain the grades to the student. Discussing both the positive attributes and the areas that require improvement can encourage the student in two ways. Primarily, they can take pride in their achievements, which in turn creates a yearning to work harder in subjects they may find challenging.

Buy TIMESAVERS for TEACHERS Report Card Comments Collections

For more tips for new teachers, consider TIMESAVERS for TEACHERS! We offer an extensive, ready-to-use, edited Report Card Comments Collection, complete with 1,800 common report card remarks for all English-speaking teachers. We also offer the following time-saving resources that can help teachers stay on top of their report card submissions: The Teacher’s Binder, Substitute Teacher Instruction Kit, and Classroom Awards. Contact us today to learn more or to place an order.