How to Write a Kindergarten Progress Report

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Throughout the year, kindergarten teachers regularly complete assessments of their students’ progress to determine if they are achieving the grade-level goals. Teachers report the results of these assessments to parents through progress reports. This report is significantly more detailed than those that students receive in later grades as it contains a listing of requisite kindergarten skills and an indication of whether the student has achieved those goals.

1 Place

Place identifying information prominently at the top of the report. Type or hand write the student’s name and your name. Include the student’s identification number if applicable, as well as the date on which the report was completed.

2 Divide the report

Divide the report into the different disciplines covered in your kindergarten class. You can select subject disciplines, like English, math and science, or further divide the report by creating separate sections for reading, writing, numeracy and other specific skill set areas.

List grade appropriate goals under each discipline. Be as specific as you can in these goals so that you can easily determine whether the student has attained the goal. For example, under reading you may list, “The student can identify all lowercase alphabet letters.” Because this skill is so specific, it is easy to determine whether the student has accomplished the task.

Complete the assessments necessary to determine whether the student has met the stated goals. To ensure that you have an accurate reading of the student’s most current abilities, you should perform these assessments in the week leading up to the report completion. Work with each child individually, and move through the set goals, asking the student to complete the tasks. Record the findings.

Record the student’s progress toward each goal using a numerical or coded grading system. You can report the student’s success using any method you see fit, but the method that you select should be used consistently and explained on the report. You may decide to use a numerical accounting method, assigning a 1 if the student cannot do the task, all the way up to a 4 if the student can do the task with ease. Or you can adopt a letter code using NP to stand for no progress and M to stand for mastered. Include a key on your report so that parents can easily interpret your information.

Compose anecdotal information about the student’s progress. Place several sentences at the end of the report that speak to the student’s academic and emotional progression. It is permissible to make recommendations to parents in this section or to include compliments about their child, as parents commonly enjoy receiving this positive feedback.

Erin Schreiner is a freelance writer and teacher who holds a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University. She has been actively freelancing since 2008. Schreiner previously worked for a London-based freelance firm. Her work appears on eHow, Trails.com and RedEnvelope. She currently teaches writing to middle school students in Ohio and works on her writing craft regularly.

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