Report cards, sometimes called progress reports, provide written records of student performance on curriculum outcomes over a period of time. The School Act states that one of the roles of teachers is to “regularly evaluate students and periodically report the results of the evaluation to the students, the students’ parents and the board” (2000 cS-3 s18(e)). The Guide to Education (2013) states that “The assessment of student progress in relation to outcomes outlined in the programs of study is important…” and “…required for reporting student progress clearly to students and parents.” These two documents provide the legal basis for reporting student performance to both students and parents.

An effective report card is a document that can be easily understood by those for whom it is intended – parents and students. The report card should provide straightforward information about what a student knows and can demonstrate relative to the graded curriculum and what the student needs to do next. Educators have a responsibility to ensure that the judgements reported are an accurate and current reflection of student learning. Elements not related to the curriculum or not reflective of the student’s typical performance must be factored out. The report card should acknowledge actions that need to be taken by partners in learning – student, parents, and teachers.

The following definitions are consistent with those used by Alberta Education and endorsed by the Alberta Assessment Consortium.

achievement: a student’s demonstration of knowledge, skills and attitudes relative to grade level learner outcomes

assessment: process of collecting information on student achievement and performance that includes a variety of assessment tasks designed to monitor and improve student learning

assessment for learning: assessment experiences that result in an ongoing exchange of information between students and teachers about student progress toward clearly specified learner outcomes (also called diagnostic and formative assessment; refers to information not used for grading purposes)

assessment of learning: assessment experiences designed to collect information about learning to make judgements about student performance and achievement at the end of a period of instruction to be shared with those outside classrooms
(also called summative assessment; refers to performance data compiled as a grade)

evaluation: making decisions about the quality, value or worth of a response for the purpose of providing descriptive feedback (formative) and marks (summative)

learner outcomes: what we expect students to learn; the provincially mandated knowledge, skills and attitudes we expect students to demonstrate as a result of schooling

mark: a letter, number or comment as a statement of student performance

performance: how well a student demonstrates grade level learner outcomes

performance assessment: a meaningful, real-life task that enables students to demonstrate what they know and can do in situations like those they will encounter outside the classroom as well as in situations that simulate how people do their work

NOTE: The term ‘progress report’ is sometimes used interchangeably with report card.