Comment Framework

Progress Reports and Report Cards

When parents read the comment can they see their child?
When students read the comment can they see themselves?

Big Ideas for Building Comments

Comments should:

describe in overall terms what students have or have not achieved

avoid language that simply repeats the curriculum

use language that parents/guardians will understand

provide parents/guardians with personalized, clear, precise, and meaningful feedback

help parents/guardians understand how they can support their children at home

Growing Success (2010), p. 64

The Purpose of AISR Comment Guidelines

The AISR comment guidelines provide teachers and principals with a framework for creating
comments that reflect student progress in terms of learning Behavior (work habits) and learning
outcomes (content and skills).
It is important that these comments are personalized in order to be meaningful to students and
parents. Personalized comments communicate student progress, indicate specific individual
evidence, and vary from student to student.

General AISR Comment Guidelines

Elementary teachers will comment on learning outcomes per core subject area (Language Arts,
Math, Modern Languages, IPC) and on social emotional development.

Secondary teachers will comment on a minimum of one learning outcome and one learning
behavior.

REMEMBER:
1. Never use the word grade or refer to specic grades.
2. Direct your comments to the parents (do not write Good job, Jason, instead write Jason is
consistently prepared for class).
3. Use present tense unless referring to completed work.
4. Never use canned comments.
5. Include the three components in each comment (key learning, evidence, steps for
improvement) as outlined below.
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Teachers should write comments that:
focus on what students have (not) learned
provide evidence for learning progress/gaps
identify next steps for improvement
The Comment Framework for Learning Behavior and Outcomes.





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Write key
learning with
qualiers and
descriptors.

The teacher identies big ideas related to a learning goal
developed from clusters of expectations or learning skills and work
habits.
The qualiers on the progress report should reect the student's
progress toward curriculum expectations or development of
Learning Outcomes and Learning Behaviors.
The qualiers on the reports should reect the student's level of
achievement of curriculum expectations or attainment of Learning
Outcomes and Learning Behaviors.
The descriptors take the tasks and learning goals into account to
clarify and more specically dene effectiveness.

Share
specic
examples
that
demonstrate
the learning.

The teacher uses information gathered from observations,
conversations, and student products to share specic examples of
what the student has done to demonstrate his/her strengths.
This information should be personalized and connected to the
success criteria for the learning goal(s).

Communicate
next steps to
students and
parents.

The teacher should communicate success criteria the student still
needs to accomplish or extend their learning.
These next steps should be connected to the learning goal and be
meaningful, clear, and attainable.







Moving Away From: Moving Towards:


#











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Lists of what is taught.
Focus on what is learned.
Comments unrelated to
Learning Skills and Work
Habits or Curriculum
Expectations.
Comments directly
related to Learning Skills
and Work Habits or
Curriculum Expectations.
Comments generated from
impersonal comment
banks.
Comments reflecting
personalized, clear,
precise, and meaningful
feedback.
Comments using
educational jargon.
Comments using
parent/student friendly
language providing
classroom examples.
Generalized comments.
Specific comments,
strengths, examples and
next steps personalized to
the student.

Descriptors for Learning Outcomes and Behaviors




















Achievement of the
expected learning
outcomes and/or
Behaviors
Achievement of most of
the learning outcomes
and/or Behaviors
Achievement of some of
the learning outcomes
and/or Behaviors
Achievement of few of
the learning outcomes
and/or Behaviors
consistently
to a high degree
without
prompting
is skilled at
has fully
demonstrated
clearly
condently and
independently
excellent
solid
is procient
comprehensive
understanding
sometimes
exceeds
easily
is able to
is very good at
often uses
skillfully uses
understands
how/that
most of the time
is able to
for the most part
often can
usually
demonstrates
demonstrates
some
understanding of
requires some
support
is developing
with support
with prompting
occasionally
is beginning to
has some
difculty with
is developing
is aware of but
is not applying
independently
is approaching
strives to
has a basic
understanding of
understands
some of
is not able to
does not yet
is unable to
needs a great
deal of
assistance
has not yet
demonstrated
not usually
with repeated
assistance
rarely
has difculty
with
struggles to
has a limited
understanding of
Strengths and Challenges:
for example
for instance
See Action Verbs on next page
Next Steps:
would benet from
needs to continue to
will have continued opportunities to
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Useful terms








Strengths Needs Suggestions
- Able to construct, able to
determine, able
to extend, able to research, able
to respond, able to support
- Can accurately ., can adapt,
can consistently ., can easily ,
can effectively , can explain,
can identify, can solve, can
successfully .
- Consistently makes
- Continues to
- Demonstrates a clear
understanding
- Demonstrates effective
- Displays strong, displays
exceptional
- Has achieved
- Has a good grasp of
- Has successfully
- Has learned
- Has very good insight
- Improved tremendously
- Is able to
- Is capable of
- Is developing
- Is consistently able to
- Recognizes the importance
- Shows commitment
- Is competent in
- Is procient at
- Is skillful at
- Is very good at
- Often uses
- Recognizes that
- Successfully interprets
- Skillfully uses
- Understands how, understands
that
-
Uses a variety of
- Attempts to, Makes attempts
- Continues to need help with
- Could prot by
- Demonstrates a limited ability to
- Does not always
- Does not demonstrate
- Encouragement with
- Experiences difculty with, has
difculty with
- Finds it difcult at times to, has
difculty
- Has not yet demonstrated the
ability
- Has not yet demonstrated
understanding
- Has trouble with
- Is seldom able to
- Is encouraged to
- Is beneting from practice with
- Is learning to/that
- Is receiving additional help with
- Is working at
- It is important that
- Lacks a clear understanding
- Needs more opportunities to
- Needs ongoing help with, Needs
ongoing assistance with
- Needs support
- Needs to clarify
- Needs to develop
- Often lacks
- Rarely uses, rarely able to
- Requires adult support for
- Requires more time
- Seems to use few
- Tries to, makes attempts to
- Struggles to, struggles with
- Unable to explain
- Can practice/apply at home by
- Greater focus on
- Is encouraged to
- Is encouraged to be more
- Is encouraged to seek
- Is encouraged to strive to
- Is not always willing to
- It is recommended that
- It is suggested that
- Needs more time to develop
- Needs to ask
- Needs to be more open
- Needs to consider
- Needs to continue to
- Needs to develop
- Needs to expand on
- Needs to improve, Needs
improvement in
- Needs to refer to
- Needs to review
- Needs reinforcement in
- Needs to spend more time on,
should spend more time on
- Needs time to
- Needs to work on
- Requires additional effort
- Requires additional practice
- Requires further understanding
- Requires guided instruction
- Should continue to
- Should do further practice
- Should take the time to
- Should utilize options for
- Should work towards
- Would benet from
- Will have opportunities to
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Appendix 1: Sample Learning Skills and Work Habits Comments
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Appendix 2: Sample Elementary Comments





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Appendix 2 continued: Sample Elementary Comments

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Appendix 2 continued: Sample Elementary Comments
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Appendix 2 continued: Sample Elementary Comments
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Appendix 2 continued: Sample Elementary Comments
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Appendix 3: Sample Middle School Comments
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Appendix 3 continued: Sample Middle School Comments








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Appendix 4: Sample High School Comments
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Appendix 4 continued: Sample High School Comments
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Appendix 4 continued: Sample High School Comments
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Appendix 4 continued: Sample High School Comments






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Appendix 5: Sample AISR Comments

Elementary:

Grade 1
Max can consistently write small moment narratives in which he can recount two or more
appropriately sequenced events. In his most recent piece of writing, he could include
some details regarding what happened. Max should begin to use temporal (order) words to
signal event order, and he needs to learn to provide some sense of closure in his writing.

Max is struggling to use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems. In his
daily math word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from and putting
together, he relies on teacher support to correctly answer the questions. Max would
benefit from continued practice counting and identifying numbers.

In IPC Max is able to pose scientific questions and he can conduct simple investigations.
In our recent science experiment, Max asked appropriate questions and he demonstrated
responsible behavior while conducting his worm dissection. Max needs to develop his
scientific vocabulary when explaining his findings.

Max is able to contribute positively and communicate effectively within the group. For
example, during the worm dissection, he listened attentively to his partner and made
appropriate suggestions for further exploration. Max should consider being more assertive
in voicing his opinions.

Secondary:

Remember that each teacher should report on a minimum of one learning outcome and
one learning Behavior outcome. Note that this example has two learning outcomes
reported on, which exceeds the minimum expectation. Comments should be
approximately 400-600 characters with a maximum of 1000 characters in length.

Grade 10 Science
Roberto is unable to differentiate between independent, dependent, and controlled
variables. For example, in his lab reports the independent and dependent variables were
confused and the controlled variables improperly identified. During labs, Roberto should
discuss with peers/teachers what the variables are so that when it is time to write the
report, he knows how to properly identify all the variables.
Roberto is very skillful at analyzing and evaluating his experimental method. The
conclusion and evaluation section of his lab reports is consistently thorough. In order to
take his conclusions to the next level, Roberto should discuss the ramifications of the
results of his experiments.
Roberto is usually prepared for class. However, he occasionally leaves his binder at home
making it difficult to maintain the flow of the lecture discussions. It is suggested that
Roberto utilize a reminder system to make sure he always has his science work with him.
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