Not satisfied with End of year report, Pls advise

ihope

I got my son's report card and it is very different from what I was expecting, he is in senior infants and is very good at reading and in maths well beyond what is required, in both English and maths. I was disappointed with his report this year. Also when I checked his JI report I find it poles apart, he was commended for both his English and maths skills as he knew more than what was taught. I wasn't surprised then; we read and do mental maths regularly. We were happy after the JI report it was a reflection of how and where we placed his maths and english skills.


According to his new report he has barely average maybe less than average, it implies. It stresses a lot on the 'improvement he has made' no mention of his reading or numeracy abilities like in JI. I understand children may change a bit over year but we have seen him improving above what is being taught in the class and we have his worksheets ( tons of them) as evidence
There are some areas of report we agree with and have no comments on them like handwritting.


What can I do for a reassessment ? And whom should I approach and in what order and mode ? Any / all answers are welcome. Thanks.

Gloomtastic!

Follow the school's complaint procedure. It usually means putting your complaint in writing to your child's teacher and arranging to meet to resolve the situation.

Mr.Wemmick

Make an appointment and with the report go through each point with his teacher. Ask to see examples of your son's work and what the report means with regard to the skills he should have learnt.. and get her to explain to you what she means by average, and again to show examples of work he has done.

It could be that you and the teacher just have different opinions as to where is he is with his development.. also he might have had a great year developing his social skills and as a result hasn't put much effort into completing tasks in class, but the best thing is to talk to his teacher and find out.

hilarymcl

In general reports go out before the end of the school year so that parents can come back with any queries or problems. As the other respondents here have said, make an appointment to see the teacher and take it from there. On the other hand- a senior infant report is not going to have any long term influence so you could just let it be.

byhookorbycrook

I don't understand what it is you want when you say "re- assessment," the teacher has given her/his considered view on the child over the year. If you disagree, of course you are welcome to make an apt to talk to teacher but it is unlikely the report would be changed.

dambarude

Meet with the teacher. If the child has completed a MIST assessment, ask for how he did comparative to other children in the class. There is no such thing as a re-assessment. This is Senior Infants, not Leaving cert!

How did the report compare to discussions at Parent/Teacher meeting? We all think our little ones are the brightest, but I would be very wary of putting pressure on the child at this stage. Maybe the work you are doing at home is not done the same way as in school and may be causing the child confusion. There is no point in doing more with the child than is expected for his age/class. It is not necessarily a good thing. By all means read together, but be guided by his school books as to how far to go. Enjoy these years and make learning fun and it will always be. Doing things differently will cause confusion and lead to an unhappy, frustrated child.

overmantle

If there has been talk of improvement throughout the year and there is not a major concern, then I don't think it's the end of the world if the report was not worded in exactly the way you may have liked or expected. If we were talking about a Leaving Cert, college or similar exam, then it would be worth following up. This is Senior Infants.

ihope

Thank you very much for your replies, everyone especially as it is a weekend.

It is not a matter of whether it has any consequence its just SI. I will talk to the teacher to understand the difference between between our understanding and the Report Card. Last year he had got excellent or very good in all subheads. He adores reading (and being read to) we need to get a lot of books from the lib as he goes through them fast. Easily manages Maths till 20s (add, takeaway, money, sharing etc) I rely on the homework and do the same stuff with him just gave him higher numbers sometime back as it was within his grasp.

It could be this teacher has higher expectations of all. I will discuss and find out.

It is not reassessment that was foremost on my mind. It was discouraging and all that came to my mind was oh my god this is so bad and wrong.

In case we relocate the SI report will matter ! you may find it hard to believe.

Thanks a lot !

byhookorbycrook

I have worked in a number of schools where children relocated. If the parents brought in a copy of a report from the previous school ,I always took it with a grain of salt. Most teachers prefer to get to know the child themselves and make their own assessments.

muckisluck

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

I have worked in a number of schools where children relocated. If the parents brought in a copy of a report from the previous school ,I always took it with a grain of salt. Most teachers prefer to get to know the child themselves and make their own assessments.

That's very reassuring about the value of school reports.

byhookorbycrook

muckisluck wrote: »

That's very reassuring about the value of school reports.

It is more to do with the standards in each school, hence we have standardised tests. Our school performs above the national averages in Maths, English reading and Irish. What is "very good" by our standards might be "excellent" somewhere else. Hence I prefer to make my own assessments of any child I teach that has come from another school.

ihope

by relocate I meant a different country, a different culture.

I have taught kids privately and really liked it. I also think teachers make their own assessment of new children / class. Just the way adults do when they meet someone new we don't go by hearsay.

In Ireland I would not have any concerns if I need to shift schools other than catchment area and of course availability of seat.

Kathnora

Regarding a Jun Infant report it really is very hard for a teacher to make negative comments unless there are very profound problems with the child. The child doesn't really get down to "hard" work and if the child has settled down in school and is responding well to lessons then the teacher is generally happy with that and he/she is not looking for Einsteins in Jun Infants. Naturally in Sen Infants the work will get a "little" harder and show a child's ability more clearly. But, I must add that in can take another year or two for some children to progress in reading and Maths......they're all different!

Hello 1996

Senior infants.....your child is in senior infants.....