Reporting to parents in primary school: communication, meaning and learning

How schools report to parents about the learning of their children is becoming increasingly important and challenging in the light of a) new developments and understanding about learning and assessment, b) Ireland’s relatively recent cultural diversity, and c) recent legislation and official policy highlighting how schools are accountable to students, parents and the State. The NCCA’s Reporting Children’s Progress in Primary Schools endorses the role of parents, as partners with schools, in extending children’s learning. School reporting practices are central to this role. The nature of these practices is the theme of this NCCA-commissioned study. In terms of assessment policy and practice, we note that reporting is more closely linked with summative than formative assessment (as indicated in the shaded column in Table 1). As such, in terms of formal reporting at both parent-teacher meetings and in relation to written report cards the emphasis is on ‘what has been learned by students to date’, that is, ‘assessment of learning’ (AoL).