Report Card Comments for Weak Students
Writing report card comments for weak or struggling students in your classroom can be challenging. Your comments need to reflect the reason why your student may be struggling in a subject area. This may be due to the effort displayed, poor attendance, behaviour, lack of concentration, a learning disability or because they find the subject challenging despite trying their best. Attached to the bottom of this document are 40 sample report card comments for struggling students which may assist you in writing your report card comments for weak students in your class.
What Should you Consider?
Writing report card comments for struggling students in your class can be a challenging task. You must consider the student, if they have made any progress in their skills and learning throughout the school year, their behaviour and work ethic. Just because a student in your classroom is not making the progress you would have hoped for their year level grade, it doesn’t mean they haven’t tried their hardest to develop their learning and skills in the classroom. A student may be putting in 100% effort into their classroom learning, but they still require extra help to make progress over the year. On the other hand, a student in your class may be weak, but they also may be putting in little effort into their school work and learning. They may be disruptive and wasting time on their school work. This is where you can use your report card comments to help you write tailored, individual comments that help parents understand their child’s progress at school.
How do you Write Positive Report Card Comments for your Students?
When writing your report card comments, it can be easy to think of the skills the student in your class can’t do. While this is important to include in your report card comments (so parents have a clear understanding of the year level progress they are making), you should also report on the skills the student can do at school. Parents want to hear about positive things their child can do in the classroom. If you are finding it hard to write positive report card comments for struggling students, think about writing things they do in the classroom that might not be based around work. For example, do they have a good sense of humour? Do they love talking about insects or video games? Is there a time they are compassionate towards others? Considering these positive traits when writing your report cards will help you in writing a well-rounded report comment. These individual quirks that the students in your classroom have can also be discussed in your general report card comments where you can spend more time writing about individual progress and behaviour. Your general report comments do not need to go into detail about the academic abilities of a student in your classroom, so you can use this section to report to parents about the overall effort and behaviour shown in class over the year.
Sample Report Card Comments
Here are some sample report card comments, which you can use for various grade levels to help you report to parents. You can use these report card comments at any time in the year to help you save time when discussing progress with parents.
Behaviour
Report card comments based on behaviour
___ often needs instructions repeated several times before he/she understands the set task. I often need to remind him/her to use a whiteboard to write notes down.
___ is often distracted by those around him/her and needs regular reminders to focus on the task at hand.
___ is learning how to listen to instructions better.
___ is beginning to understand that his/her constant calling out is affecting his/her ability to focus on the task at hand.
___ is developing skills to not let himself/herself become distracted by those around him/her.
I would like to see ___ ask for assistance when he/she is struggling to understand set work.
It is wonderful to see ___ gaining the confidence to ask for help when needed.
___ is not yet able to work in small groups as he/she struggles to focus and engage with his/her peers.
___ would benefit from slowing down and reading the set questions carefully.
When ___ slows down and carefully completes his/her class work, he/she creates neat and relevant work.
___ often struggles to remember content that has already been covered in class and would greatly benefit from some extra practice at home.
Effort
Report card comments based on effort
___ always shows commitment to his/her learning, even when he/she finds the subject challenging.
When ___ applies consistent effort, he/she produces work he/she can be proud of.
I would like to see ___ apply consistent effort to his/her book work.
__ does not always give his/her best effort, which has been reflected in the grades he/she has received this semester.
___ relies heavily on teacher assistance to complete set work.
___ is still learning the importance of focusing and listening to instructions.
___ has a clear love for learning and shows determination, even when he/she finds the subject matter challenging.
___ sets a positive example to his/her peers by never giving up, even when he/she struggles with a set task.
When ___ displays focus, he/she is able to finish a set task.
It is wonderful to see ___ begin to gain confidence in the classroom to give unfamiliar tasks a go.
With some teacher encouragement, ___ is developing a better attitude towards his/her schoolwork.
Even when ___ struggles to understand set work, his/her determination sets a positive example to his/her peers.
___ displays a love for learning and will give everything a go, even when he/she is struggling to understand the set work.
Academic Progress
Report card comments based on academic progress
___ is beginning to grow independence when working on Numeracy problems.
___ has displayed a fantastic attitude when trying to improve his/her reading skills.
I would like to see ___ attempt his/her school work independently before asking for assistance.
I would like to see ___ become an active participant in his/her learning and not relying heavily on teacher assistance.
___ shows a genuine interest in his/her school work despite the challenges he/she has faced with understanding the curriculum.
___ would benefit from reading at least 15 minutes each evening to re-enforce strategies learnt at school.
It would be great to see ___ practice her spelling words at home each night to re-enforce learning.
General Comments
Report card comments based on general classroom activities
___ does not always arrive at school on time, which is beginning to affect his/her school work and grades.
I would like to see ___’s attendance improve as he/she regularly misses large units of work.
___has had substantial absences this semester which has affected his/her ability to understand set tasks.
When ___ attends school regularly and on time, his/her grades and effort improve dramatically.
___ is starting to gain the confidence to contribute to classroom discussions.
___ often forgets his/her homework, reading folder and school supplies. He/she would benefit from coming to school prepared each day ready to learn.
I would like to see ___ show some positively when faced with a challenging task.
___ has a fantastic effort and is working hard to improve his/her academic ability in all areas.
___ should be very proud of the consistent effort he/she has displayed throughout the term, even when the set work has been challenging.
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These sample report card comments will help you save time when writing your comments and discussing student progress with parents. To see thousand more tailored and personalised report card comments, sign up for a free trial at Complete School Reports. You can use your membership to write your report cards in a fraction of the time, making reporting to parents a much easier and stress free process.