Sunday 8 July 2012

End of Term Report - Nul Points


Has anyone else got problems interpreting these damned school reports?

Rather than letting me know No.1 son's position in the class within each subject, I'm informed as to how he has fared against his expected attainment - I'm comparing him with himself, which is a total and utterly solipsistic nonsense. If his teachers think he's not got much hope, then his expected level of attainment ain't going to be that high in the first place.

Yes, you get some matrix that tells you what percentage have achieved certain levels, but I want a single sheet of paper that's quick to read and assimilate - not half a dozen pieces of paper that need to be placed on the floor and cross referenced several times over in order to derive any knowledge whatsoever.

I'm not sure whether to box his ears or congratulate him.

Oh for some sensible education policies.


4 comments:

Philn said...

Get your old conway ones out. now they were simple... but they had to be the teachers were not that clever !!

Alan Burnett said...

Congratulate the Lad - and then box his ears just to be on the safe side. Most of my old school reports said things like "Alan tries hard" which were equally open to various interpretations.

Chairman Bill said...

Alan: sound advice! If in doubt, clout!

LA said...

Some of my daughter's reports read like psychoanalyst claptrap BS. I did not need a Freudian report card that said things like "she needs more encouragement when working on math." seriously? This constitutes a report card? She was 8 for petes sake...can she add, subtract, count jelly beans and legibly write her numbers? No sign of any such measurement whatsoever. When asked, her teacher replied that those kinds of assessments damage the kid's self-esteem and delicate psyches. Whatever! She's 25 now, graduated first in her college, magnum cum laude, and a host of other awards from a tough university. THATS information that raises self-esteem!