It’s that time of year again!
Teachers everywhere try to distil a year’s worth of personal triumphs, tragedies and revelations into a few well-chosen comments.
Some parents wait with bated breath. Others barely notice. For the teachers who write end-of-year reports, it can be one of those times that feels a million miles away from why we started teaching in the first place.
When John Hattie’s team identified feedback as one of the most powerful drivers of student learning in 2008, they didn’t mean end-of-year school reports.
They meant a continuous, authentic cycle of shared impressions, evidence, observations, and reflections, where ownership and mastery of learning spread from the teacher to the student bit by bit.
They meant a process of continual engagement where learning becomes visible—yes, through formal summative assessment results, but also through much more of the unique human experiences and interactions that make up each student, each class, and each school year.
So why do we do this?
There will always be a place for formal annual reports on student achievement. But what if there was another way to really share each young person’s learning experience with their families?
There is. But it ain’t easy.
Most schools are pushing towards continuous reporting in one way or another. Whether it’s a valuable tool to keep hyper-engaged parents satisfied or a genuine tool for learning collaboration, many are asking some big questions.
St Clare’s College in Canberra has taken the plunge in recent years. Juliette Major, the Learning ICT leader at St Clare’s says
Real-time reporting shows staff, students and their parents/carers the most recent and historical academic results. Staff have access to historical data, student management files, and standardised testing results uploaded to (our) platform. Students can … manage their goal setting of academic and pastoral goals.
According to Juliette, “Iterative feedback, the loop and the cycle of feedback and feed-forward can make the difference in whether or not schools, teachers and students can raise achievement standards.”
As a Visible Learning and International Baccalaureate consultant, I have seen how continuous reporting gives teachers easier access to historical academic results, which help show each student’s progress over time.
As a former Deputy Principal and School Parent, I have seen first-hand how parents and carers appreciate seeing their child’s results and feeling informed about the pressure points in their child’s learning.
Our solution: SEQTA
Our LMS, SEQTA, has a visible learning feature that allows educators to track and visualise student progress in real-time using detailed data insights and analytics. This tool makes learning transparent for teachers, parents, and students, helping identify areas for improvement and supporting targeted interventions.
SEQTA empowers schools to provide evidence-based education and promote student success through structured feedback, personalised learning plans, and continuous updates. Additionally, parents can stay engaged with their child’s development, enhancing communication and creating a holistic approach to student wellbeing and learning.
As our teachers grind through this part of the year, many will ask if there is a better way. There is. With the right tools and support, schools can move toward a model where information is continuously captured and shared, making well-being and learning visible all the time to learners, educators, and families.
Maybe, as this crazy 2024 draws to an end, 2025 is the time for your school to try a better way.
Are you ready to streamline your end-of-year reporting? Book a demo today.
