Report card comments — the standard Canadian phrasing
Lesson 2 of 4 in The Language of Canadian Teaching · 22 minutes
Report card comments are tightly conventioned. Strong comments name the standard, describe student strengths, identify next steps, and use specific Canadian phrasing. This lesson is the practical guide.
What you'll learn
- Structure report card comments clearly
- Use Canadian phrasing for strengths and growth
- Avoid common pitfalls (vague, blaming, too positive, too negative)
- Adapt comments to different reporting formats
From the lesson
Report cards are read by parents, students, future teachers, and sometimes principals. They become part of a student's record. The phrasing matters — it must be specific, accurate, and constructive. Most provinces have specific guidelines (Ontario's Growing Success and similar provincial documents). This lesson is the working how-to.
1. The structure of a strong comment
Most provincial guidelines suggest a 3-part structure:
1. Strength (what the student does well): Specific, with reference to a curriculum expectation.
2. Next step (what the student is working on): Concrete, achievable, named.
3. Strategy (how to support the next step): What you and/or the student will do.
Example (Grade 4, Math):…