Purposes+of+reporting+-+to+communicate

=**REPORTING**= Reporting is the second, essential part of the assessment process. Without it, any assessment loses much of its credibility. Reporting can be to one or more of many groups. In educational settings this can be to the system, the school and its staff and in schools and other educational settings, students and their families. Reports communicate information which has been compiled as a result of research and analysis of data and of issues. Reports can cover a wide range of topics, but usually focus on transmitting information with a clear purpose, to a specific audience.

=**CHARACTERSTICS OF REPORT**= Good reports are documents that are accurate, objective and complete. They should also be well-written, clearly structured and expressed in a way that holds the reader's attention and meets their expectations. Rightly or wrongly, the quality and worth of that work are judged by the quality of the written report - its clarity, organization and content" (Blake & Bly, 1993: 119). Often reports are structured in a way that reflects the information finding process and the writing up of the findings: that is, summary of the contents, introduction or background, methods, results, discussion, conclusion and/or recommendations. The inclusion of recommendations is one reason why reports are a common form of writing in industry, as the informed recommendations are useful for decision making. The scope and style of reports varies widely. It depends on three key factors: the report's intended audience, the report's purpose and the type of information to be communicated; for example, technical reports communicate technical information, so the degree of technicality in the report will depend on the reader's familiarity and understanding of technical concepts.

=**TYPES OF REPORT**= . There are multiple ways of doing this - regular, print reports such as report cards; documentary evidence; electronic reporting; personal meetings and more. Each has positives and negatives depending on the situation and combinations of these may well be the best option. Promptness in reporting is, however, an essential characteristic
 * __**Technical and Business**__ disciplines with an applied focus such as Engineering, Information Technology, Commerce, Accounting and Finance, will set report writing assignments that simulate the process of report writing in industry. Assignments are set in the form of a problem or a case study. The students research the problem, and present the results of the research in a report format to an imaginary client.
 * __**Field reports**__ are common in disciplines such as Law, Industrial Relations, Psychology, Nursing, History and Education. These types of reports require the student to analyse his or her observations of phenomena or events in the real world in light of theories studied in the course. Examples of field reports are a Court observation report, an observation report of a child or a patient for Developmental psychology or Nursing, a History site report, and a teaching observation report for Education.
 * __**Scientific reports**__ (also called laboratory reports) are another kind of report. They are common in all the Sciences and Social Sciences. These reports use a standard scientific report format describing methods, results and conclusions to report upon an empirical investigation. A more detailed and extensive type of this report is the research project report for fourth year honours students or research students involved in postgraduate studies.

**principles of Reporting**
• reflect the integrated nature of assessment and reportin • be based on valid and reliable assessme • be efficient and manageable • support student learning and enhance student motivation and commitment to learning • enable schools and parents to develop effective partnerships to support the learning of students • enable students to participate in the reporting process and hence encourage them to take responsibility for their learning • provide detailed, explicit and comprehensible information about what students have achieved to date • allow planning for each student’s or students’ future learning development • reflect student achievement in relation to the curriculum, both academic and non-academic • utilise a range of reporting strategies, to suit the needs of the school community • be inclusive and provide reasonable accommodations to ensure students and parents with special needs have access to appropriate reporting strategies • protect the privacy of individuals. 5. Requirements (a) Use plain English. (b) In years 1 – 12, include for each learning area, subject or unit studied, a child’s achievement reported as a grade A, B, C, D or E.
 * 1) **1** The key purpose of reporting is to support student learning by providing information to
 * 2) students and parents about student achievement and progress, and to indicate areas
 * 3) for further development.
 * 4) **2** Reporting should foster partnerships between parents and teachers to support a
 * 5) student’s learning and progress**.**
 * 6) **3** A student’s report provides a formal record at a point in time on the student’s
 * 7) progress and achievement.
 * 8) **4** Reporting student achievement provides a measure of school accountability for
 * 9) student learning and outcomes.
 * 10) **5** Schools have a responsibility to provide regular, accurate and comprehensive
 * 11) information about a child’s intellectual, social and personal development.
 * 12) **6** Effective reporting procedures should:
 * 1) 1 Parents will receive a written report at least twice in a school year.
 * 2) 2 The written reports will:


 * In years 1 – 10, the grades are defined as follows;**
 * 1)  Your child has demonstrated ** outstanding achievement ** of the
 * 2) knowledge, skills and understandings expected
 * 3) B - Your child has demonstrated ** high achievement ** of the knowledge,
 * 4) skills and understandings expected
 * 5) C - Your child has demonstrated ** sound achievement ** of the knowledge,
 * 6) skills and understandings expected
 * 7) D - Your child has demonstrated ** limited achievement ** of the knowledge,
 * 8) skills and understandings expected
 * 9) E - Your child has demonstrated ** very limited achievement ** of the
 * 10) knowledge, skills and understandings expected.

A - awarded to students who have demonstrated a ** very high ** level of knowledge and understanding of the full range of concepts and principles of the unit

B - awarded to students who have demonstrated a ** high ** level of knowledge and understanding of the concepts and principles of the unit

C - awarded to students who have demonstrated a ** sound ** level of knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts and principles of the unit

D - awarded to students who have demonstrated a ** limited ** knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts and principles of the unit

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(d) In years 1 – 12, indicate the number of students in a child’s peer group (all children in a learning area/subject/unit, in the same year level) attaining each of the identified A – E grades. To ensure information provided does not interfere with an individual’s privacy in accordance with the // Privacy Act 1988, // the number of students receiving each grade will not be reported for a cohort of less than ten. (e) Identify student strengths, areas for further development and strategies to support and/or extend learning. (f) Provide information about the student’s social development and involvement in school programs and activities. (g) Provide information about the student’s attitude and commitment to learning. (h) Record information about the student’s attendance at school. 5.3 The data provided to parents under 5.2 (b – d), will be reported using the Summary Report. This complies with the // Schools Assistance (Learning Together – // Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Regulations 2005. 5.4 To comply with requirements 5.2 (e – h), identified through the Government Schools Education Council review into school reporting, schools are to develop their own additional reporting strategies and formats, in conjunction with their communities. 5.5 Schools will inform parents that they can withdraw their child from the A-E reporting by requesting so in writing. 5.6 Written reports will be followed by an opportunity for the student and parents to discuss the report with teachers.

6. The School’s Procedures on Reporting Student Achievement 6.1 The school’s reporting procedures will comply with the requirements and principles contained in this policy. 6.2 The school’s reporting procedures will also include: • the strategies for reporting • the timing and frequency of reporting • procedures to ensure that parents are promptly informed when their child is experiencing significant problems. .GUIDELINES **1**.Schools should use a variety of strategies to provide meaningful information about student achievement and progress throughout the year. ensure the range of learning evidence and achievements are shared in an appropriate way and in a timely manner. These include:
 * 2**. In addition to written reports, the following communication strategies could be used to

• interviews with parents • three-way interviews with the teacher, student and parent  examples of student work • homework books • student exhibitions and performances. 7.3 Interviews should be conducted with appropriate privacy safeguards. It is the professional responsibility of teachers to be available for interviews. Written reports should be provided prior to parent/teacher interviews.