How to Write Report Card Comments: A Practical Guide for BC Teachers

Report card comments are one of the few times a family hears, in writing, how their child is really doing. They’re also one of the biggest time drains of the year. Twenty-six students, several subjects, and a blank box for each one.

The good news is that strong comments follow a pattern. Once you know it, you stop staring at the box and start filling it.

Why descriptive comments matter

In BC’s K–9 reporting, the proficiency scale (Emerging, Developing, Proficient, Extending) tells families where a student is. The written comment tells them what that means and what comes next. A level without a comment is a label. A comment that names a real skill and a real next step is something a family can act on.

The three-part formula

That’s it. Three to four sentences, about 60 to 100 words. Here’s how one comes together.

Step 1: Start with your notes

Step 2: Turn the strength into a sentence

Be specific. “Does well in math” tells a family nothing. “Is at their best when building and modelling ideas with materials” paints a picture.

Step 3: Frame the concern as a next step

“Rushes and makes careless errors” becomes “A next step is to slow down and check each step of multi-step problems.” Same concern, but now it’s a goal instead of a criticism.

Step 4: Add one way to help at home

Five rules that make comments better

1. Write about the learning, not the child. “Is working on staying focused during independent work” instead of “is easily distracted.”
2. Be specific. Name the skill (“retells events in order,” “uses place value to add”) and, where you can, an example.
3. Use the language of the proficiency scale, but explain it. Families don’t all know what “Developing” means. Your comment shows them. (More on this in what to write at each proficiency level.)
4. Skip the jargon. “Curricular competencies” means little at the kitchen table. “Explaining their thinking” means a lot.
5. Pass the read-aloud test. Read the comment as if you were the parent, and then as if you were the student. Would you understand it? Would you feel respected?

A workflow for a whole class

The formula makes each comment faster. This workflow makes the whole stack faster.

1. Collect notes during the term, not the week reports are due. A few words per student per week on sticky notes or in a spreadsheet is plenty.
2. Batch by subject, not by student. Writing all your reading comments in one sitting keeps your language consistent and your brain in one gear.
3. Sort by level first. Group students who are Developing in reading, for example. Their comments will share structure, and you only change the specifics.
4. Start from a bank, then personalize. A comment bank gives you a strong first sentence. Your notes make it about this child.
5. Do a final read in one pass. Check names, pronouns, and that no two comments in the class are identical.

A quick checklist before you submit

• Does each comment name at least one real strength?
• Is there exactly one clear next step (not five)?
• Would a family know what to do with it?
• Are the student’s name and pronouns correct everywhere?
• Is anything sensitive better said in a conversation than in writing?

If you want a head start, the free BC comment bank has strengths, next steps and home-support sentences for every K–7 subject at each proficiency level.