Get personal with those comments

‘Tis the season…for comments, grades, report cards, conferences…updates for families about their student’s progress. . .fa la la la la la la la la

I am going to stop here though — your communication home should already be so frequent, precise, and specific for each student that the end of marking period communication should be no surprise — at least not a negative one for students and families.

Even with stellar school to home and home to school communication though, report card comments, or whatever your institution’s equivalent of an end of a marking period communication is — should be specific, to the point and goal-driven for each student.

Let me say that again.

End of grading period comments (or your institution’s equivalent language here) should be specific, to the point, and goal-driven for each student.

Yes. Every. Student. Should. Have. A. Unique. To. Them. Comment. Section.

Don’t even start with excuses here. Just read for a few moments.

1. Every student should have a goal or set of goals each semester. This might be created by them, by you, or a combination of both. Either way, they (and you) should be aiming at something(s) specific to each student. Some may be common between students or even your whole class — but each student could and, I would contend should, have a goal specific to them. Part of your comments for each student should be directly related to that goal or set of goals and contain specific feedback about that student. No cookie-cutter, no copy and paste, no general “making progress” statements. Get rid of those now. If you did not already have goals specific to each student, that’s okay — there is something to shoot for next marking period. For now though — I know you have/had in mind where you planned to take your class. Take THAT and comment specifically for each individual student about their progress to that goal. Keep that “No cookie-cutter, no copy and paste, no general “making progress” statements” rule though. Each student is an individual and deserves feedback that is specific to them.
2. Fluff ain’t enough. I am going to go a step further here and tell you fluff has no place in comments. They are not necessary, they are the reason families tune out report card comments, they are time wasters — and ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat. Cut it out….literally….delete it now. Recapping the content and activities you covered over the marking period is fluff. I’ll say this again for the ones in the back, and a little louder as well. Recapping the content and activities you covered over the marking period IS fluff. You have already communicated that over the course of the marking period, you Rockstar, You — no need for it in the comment section. If it is something you can copy and paste from one student to another, it’s fluff. Get rid of it. This will not only help you capitalize on specific feedback, but it will also make you a more effective communicator. One more time though, if you can copy and paste it to another student… IT. IS. FLUFF. *cue the delete button*
3. Specific information about the student, their skills, strengths, areas for improvement, is necessary, important, and the reason for the comments section. If you do not have at least one sentence that speaks directly about each individual student that could not possibly be copied and pasted to another student — it’s not good enough. You owe it to yourself as a professional, to the students you serve, and to the families of those future changemakers to know each student and speak directly to and about them specifically. You have seen their work, assessed formatively and summatively, spent countless hours with them — what do you know? What can you say? This is your stage — show off on their behalf, what have you seen over the course of the marking period that was amazing, a sign of improvement, and/or an area that you are targeting to work on next marking period, something you are proud of on the student’s behalf? Get that in writing, that’s the good stuff. That’s the stuff that matters.

Before we start listing excuses, let me tell you that I teach 300 students and every one of them have individualized comments, no fluff. I communicate weekly with parents about content, post pictures, videos, and narratives online for families to see — none of that is in the comment section. I MAY comment about what I observed a student being particularly engaged in (a lesson, lab, activity) but it is specific to a skill they were practicing and it’s not a statement that I could copy and paste for someone else. Even if two students were particularly engaged in a specific activity/lesson/lab, the way each student interacted with the content will undoubtedly be different — I have to honor that, and I have to speak to it.

There is a huge temptation to use canned comments, they are there for a reason, right? Sure they are — but you can do better. If you were a “canned comment” type of person, you wouldn’t be reading this and looking to push yourself — you probably wouldn’t know this blog existed if you weren’t looking for something to challenge you, inspire you, push you to be better. I am not suggesting you write an epic ballad for all of your students; but if you can and have the time — totally do it — I envy you, by the way. What you CAN absolutely do is dedicate 3 sentences for every student. If that is a stretch, go for 2 sentences. Heck — this first round — go for one, specific to each student, no copy and paste-able, goal-driven comment. You can do it, I believe in you, and your students and their families will notice. I promise you.

If you aren’t feeling prepared for this task right now. Here is one way I make sure I CAN and WILL have individualized comments for all 300 of my students each semester.

Keep anecdotal notes. I have a notebook for every class I teach and I write notes about specific students every day. This is time-consuming but one hundred percent worth it. I write down concerns, compliments, comments, notes about student interests, events or information they share with me…basically anything I can. This is also how I record interactions with students and communications home. This is a catch-all for anything that I want to remember or think I may need to remember. It ends up being kind of a journal, honestly. This helps me connect with students (all 300!), remember important things or quotes — it also helps me figure out how to best illustrate each student at the end of the marking period. During the marking period, this is also how I keep track of notes I mail home as surprises for students. I know this is A LOT, and you do not have to be me, but I am hoping this helps you in some way, push yourself to be better. Am I perfect at this? NOPE. Do I try? YEP Do I fail? You betcha — but I am always striving to be better. And I do get better, but I do still fall short, fail, and seek ways to improve where I do fall short.

Push yourself.

You are worth it.

Your students are worth it.