Each student report must include:

• student attendance

• whole school activities

• student’s social development and commitment to learning

• explanation of the grade scale used

• a report for each key learning area, subject or course, each requiring

  • the outcomes assessed
    
  • A-E grades or word equivalent (Years 1-11) or Personalised Reporting Scale grade
    
  • key learning area, subject or course-specific comment
    

Social development and commitment to learning

Schools may choose to include information on a student’s social development and commitment to learning in each key learning area/subject/course, or they may choose to collate the information into a general overview of the student’s social development and commitment to learning.

If schools choose to take the second approach, it could be completed by the core teacher or the year adviser. It could even become a student’s self-assessment.

A scale to report on these areas is not mandated in the Curriculum Planning and Programming, Assessing and Reporting (CPPAR) policy. If schools do choose to use a scale, the various levels should be explained on the cover sheet of the report.

Schools have the option to choose the categories which best to applies to their context. Some examples include the general capabilities (such as critical and creative thinking, information and communication technology, personal and social capability), the school’s positive behaviour for learning goals such as resilience and respect, students’ engagement with feedback or students’ independent learning skills.

A–E common grade scale

Teachers make professional judgements, based on assessment data and teacher observation, about student achievement against the state-wide syllabus standards, particularly the syllabus outcomes and content. This professional judgement is done at key points in the learning cycle.

Kindergarten – The Common Grade Scale (A-E) or equivalent is not required for Kindergarten students. Reports should describe how a student’s achievement compares with syllabus standards through teachers’ comments.

Teachers should use the relevant Common Grade Scale when in forming professional judgements about a student’s achievement.

• Year 1-10 Common Grade Scale
• Year 11 Common Grade Scale for Preliminary Courses

Teachers should not award lower grades to students in the lower year in a stage, for example, a student in Year 5 or Year 7 should not be limited to a D or C purely because they are at the beginning of a stage. Decisions are made based on student achievement of the learning in which they have participated up to that point in time.

The Common Grade Scale or equivalent is not required for Year 12 students, as students who are eligible for the Higher School Certificate (HSC) award receive an assessment mark for each course undertaken.

Schools should not use this scale or equivalent for students undertaking Years 7–10 courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content, and Years 11–12 Life Skills courses.

Schools should not use the performance bands to grade students for reporting purposes. Performance bands are allocated by NESA after the HSC exams, based on students’ results across the examination and the school assessment. The language of the performance band descriptors can, however, assist teachers to write comments for reports.

Teacher judgement

Teacher judgements about student achievement should be based on quality evidence. The evidence used by teachers to make that judgement can include results from formative and summative assessments as well as teacher observations.

Signing reports

There is no policy or department requirement to include a principal or teacher signature on the report. However, reports need to be distributed in an un-editable format with the statement “Issued without any correction”.

If you choose to include a signature, we recommend the use of digital signatures or images of a signature as this may make the sign off process more efficient.

Whole school activities

Student reports need to provide information about student achievement in relation to school programs that extend or are additional to syllabus requirements (refer to the CPPAR policy). Schools will need to decide how best to record their students' engagement in whole school activities, informed by their school context and reporting system.

Whole school activities that can be included:

• extracurricular activities, such as gardening club or school performances

• academic events and competitions, such as public speaking, maths Olympiad, or Tournament of the Minds

• student leadership opportunities, such as student representative council

• community involvement projects, such as volunteering for Daffodil Day or Clean Up Australia Day, or helping with Breakfast Club

• sporting events and competitions, such as inclusive school sports events, dance competitions or zone swimming.