Ongoing Communication of Student Learning
The primary purpose of ongoing communication between teachers, students and parents/guardians is to improve student learning. Feedback ensures that teachers, students and parents/guardians clearly understand and can support the student’s progress towards learning outcomes from Alberta Programs of Study. Effective communication practices ensure that parents are informed about how their child is doing at school.
Ongoing communication matters. While grades on a report card share important information about student achievement in relation to what has been taught and assessed throughout that reporting period, it is also important for teachers and students to identify and celebrate learning along the way. Teachers communicate about student progress and achievement in a variety of ways throughout the reporting period. This ensures that the information communicated on the report card is both expected and easily understood by students and their families.
Report Cards
Daily, ongoing assessment and report cards are not separate. They inform each other. Both are based on outcomes from the Program of Studies and inform next steps for learners and teachers.
Report card grades are used to formally communicate student achievement of learning outcomes to students, parents/guardians, the CBE and the province. Reporting requires teachers to summarize the learning that has taken place over the course of the reporting period. The body of evidence determines which grade most accurately represents the student’s level of understanding of the grade-level learning outcomes. The extent to which the student has demonstrated achievement of learning outcomes is reported through the use of the 1-4 achievement indicators in K-9, while in grades 10-12 achievement is reported through the use of a percentage grade.
At report card time, teachers consider the most current evidence and ensure students are not being penalized for learning – in other words, if the student demonstrated a lower level of achievement with certain outcomes earlier in the reporting period but by the end of the reporting period were demonstrating a stronger understanding of those same outcomes, the teacher would consider the student’s more recent achievement when determining report card grades.
Some schools are moving to digital report cards. For help with accessing student assessment and reporting information, please refer to the information in the MyCBE Technical Support for Students & Parents website. For more information about grading and reporting, please contact your school.
