Reporting on English

The English K-10 syllabus states the essential knowledge, understanding and skills that students are expected to learn.

Parents and or carers are to be provided with information on their child’s learning in English as outlined in the Policy Standards for Curriculum Planning and Programming, Assessing and Reporting to Parents K-12 (PDF 201 KB) (CPPAR).

The English component of student reports must:

reflect the outcomes assessed
include A–E grades or word equivalent (Years 1 to 11) or a Personalised Reporting Scale grade
provide an English-specific comment.

Reports for Kindergarten students describe how well a child’s achievement in English compares with syllabus standards through the use of teacher comments. There is no formal requirement to provide a grade. Doing so is a school-based decision.

For further information about reporting on English refer to the NSW Department of Education microlearning module, Reporting to parents and carers (English K-2) (staff only).

Considerations for reporting on English

There will be variations in reports arising from the differences in school contexts.

Further to the CPPAR policy requirements, schools may also choose to include:

an indication of achievement in focus areas
an English specific goal for future learning
student self-reflection on learning in subject English.

All outcomes within the syllabus must be assessed, but there is no requirement that they will all be reported on in the biannual reports. The number of outcomes to be reported on in English is not mandated. This is a school-based decision. The choice of outcomes should reflect the knowledge and skills which have been taught and assessed during that reporting period.

Suggested examples

These samples represent possible reporting templates for biannual reports for parents and/or carers. These are optional examples for reporting on English for K-2. Schools will need to determine the outcomes and content that they will report on for each semester.

The English K-10 syllabus affords a refreshed approach to teaching English and therefore reporting. Sample reports include value-added features that support this approach. Schools are encouraged to choose an approach that best suits their school context and community needs.

As new information is released from NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), and the department’s CPPAR policy is updated, these sample reports will be reviewed.

Example 1: Early Stage 1

English – Achievement grade: Meeting expectations

Focus area	Working towards expected level	Meeting expectations	Above expectations
Oral language and communication
Vocabulary
Phonological awareness
Print conventions
Phonic knowledge
Reading fluency
Reading comprehension
Creating written texts
Spelling
Handwriting
Understanding and responding to literature

Sam confidently takes turns when contributing to group conversations. He uses personal and subject specific vocabulary in key learning areas to clarify meaning. Sam can match a letter to its corresponding sound. He can identify and substitute the first, middle and final sounds of a one-syllable word. Sam can identify and name lower- and upper-case letters and can distinguish between punctuation, words and numerals in texts. He reads texts aloud with expression and responds to a full stop to mark the end of a sentence. With support, Sam can recall the sequence of events and is learning to form an opinion and express his likes and dislikes about texts. He writes simple sentences using capital letters and full stops. Sam can spell his own name and taught high frequency words. He can form letters using the correct starting point and direction.

Example 2: Early Stage 1

English – Achievement grade: Meeting expectations

Focus area and content	Above expectations	Meeting expectations	Working towards expectations
Vocabulary Understands and effectively uses vocabulary in familiar contexts
Phonological awareness Identifies, blends and segments sounds in spoken words to read and create texts
Phonic knowledge Uses letter patterns and combinations when reading and creating texts
Reading fluency Reads texts aloud with automaticity
Reading comprehension Comprehends independently read texts using word, sentence and background knowledge
Creating written texts Creates written texts that includes related ideas and simple sentences
Understanding and responding to literature Understands and responds to literature read to them

Lacy is an enthusiastic learner in English and has shown growth in all focus areas this semester. She uses her extensive knowledge of sound and letter patterns to read and create texts.

Future directions for Lacy include:

using visual cues and asking questions to clarify meaning in a text
using personal pronouns correctly in writing
drawing on her background knowledge to discuss and compare characters.

Example 3: Stage 1

English – Achievement grade: C

Focus area	A	B	C	D	E
Oral language and communication
Vocabulary
Phonic knowledge
Reading fluency
Reading comprehension
Creating written texts
Spelling
Handwriting
Understanding and responding to literature

Brandon confidently and consistently participates in both whole class and small group discussions. He reads decodable texts with increasing fluency and is developing the confidence to read aloud. With support, Brandon can verbally recount a text using newly taught vocabulary. For further improvement in reading fluency, he is encouraged to read aloud daily. Brandon spells words with familiar letter patterns and is learning to use correct letter combinations when spelling new words. Recently, he produced an accurate written description about ants and independently published this on a digital platform.

Example 4: Stage 1

English – Achievement grade: D

Focus area	E	D	C	B	A
Oral Language and communication Effectively communicates and elaborates ideas in social and learning environments
Vocabulary Understands and effectively uses vocabulary to extend and elaborate ideas
Phonic Knowledge Uses complex letter patterns and combinations when reading and creating texts
Reading fluency Maintains fluency and self-corrects when reading new texts aloud
Reading comprehension Comprehends independently read texts by monitoring meaning and activating background, word and sentence knowledge
Creating written texts Plans, creates and revises texts written for different purposes
Spelling Applies a range of spelling strategies when writing in a variety of contexts
Handwriting Uses a legible handwriting style, and digital technology when creating texts
Understanding and responding to literature Understands and responds to literature by creating texts using appropriate language choices and features

Lannie’s strengths in English include:

applying grapheme-phoneme knowledge to read one- and two-syllable words
using word-processing software to produce texts.

Lannie’s learning goals in English include:

understanding that the same word can have different meanings
writing compound sentences using correct punctuation.

How to assess English

Teachers make professional, on-balance judgements to decide which grade description best matches the standards their students have achieved at a particular point in time. These decisions are based on evidence of achievement and information teachers have collected during the teaching and learning.

For further information on assessment in English refer to the NSW Department of Education microlearning module, Assessment strategies in English K-2.

Reporting on mathematics

In the NSW Mathematics K–10 Syllabus, the Working mathematically outcome describes the thinking and doing of mathematics.

Reporting advice on the syllabuses

How reports to parents and carers may be presented for syllabuses (includes samples of English and mathematics reports).

Category:

Teaching and learning

Business Unit:

Educational Standards