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Parental Participation in Schools
 

Assessment and reporting to parents on pupils’ achievements

Scotland

Austria

Belgium
(Flemish Community)

France

Italy

Netherlands

Portugal
Schools provide parents with:
  • an annual written report on their child’s progress and attainment;
  • an annual meeting with the teacher(s); and
  • a School Handbook which includes a report on how well pupils performed in national examinations.

Nationally, parents are kept informed about examination results, attendance and absence, school costs and the destinations of leavers in Scottish schools through special publications by HM Inspectors of Schools. In addition, education providers and many schools offer parents:

  • at least two reports and meetings with teachers each year at key times;
  • regular dialogue between school and home;
  • involvement in their child’s self-assessment and targets for improving attainment, attitude and behaviour or attendance;
  • early warnings of their child’s difficulties; and

an evaluation of how well the school is performing overall in key aspects of its work, such as the quality of learning and teaching and school management.

 Parents are informed about pupils’ achievements by an informal written report at the end of the first term of the school year and at parents’ consultation hours which teachers must hold. A formal report at the end of the school year indicates whether a pupil is to be promoted to the next grade or remain in a lower grade. Teachers are obliged to inform parents immediately of a decline in a pupil’s performance. In 1997, a new law required teachers to consult with pupils and parents whenever there was concern about progress. The aim of this early warning system is to draw up a learning programme for the pupil, monitored by teachers and parents. A national survey indicated that this process was having a positive effect. A case study in this report considers the process in more detail. A school report is issued to parents before a parents’ evening. In some schools, individual contacts between parents and teachers are encouraged and regular letters keep parents informed of their children’s progress and attainment. The extensive formal procedures which exist in France for reporting to parents on pupils’ achievements are set out in the School-Home Links section above. Assessment is carried out by individual schools, following general criteria set by the Ministry of (Public) Education. There is no national system of student assessment and no central organisation appointed to verify that the criteria are followed.

The Ministry of (Public) Education’s guidelines suggest that a teacher’s initial assessment of a child’s ability on admission should be followed by regular assessments throughout the school year. This should help to ensure that the teaching methods and the tasks set are carefully matched to the child’s needs.

Parents receive regular reports on their children’s performance.

 Pupils are tested before they leave primary school. In addition, parents have:
  • regular reports on pupils’ progress, very frequently in some schools;
  • regular 10 minute talks with teachers;
  • set opportunities to visit classrooms; and
  • individual appointments to speak to teachers where necessary.
 Parents receive two written reports every school term. The teacher in charge of each class sets aside one hour every week to meet with parents. Direct parental involvement is required when special assessment procedures are proposed or it is recommended that a child repeats a stage. There are, as yet, no reports on individual school performance.

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