Schools earn F for failure in report jargon

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James "finds self-management quite challenging". He "needs to use appropriate mediation skills when solving conflicts, and practise safety procedures".

You might think James is a construction site manager, or maybe a hot-tempered business executive. You'd be wrong.

James is five years old and this is his first school report. His mother says he recently broke his arm in the playground - that's where she thinks the "safety procedures" come in. But "self-management" has her baffled. "He's five. Spell it out. That's not telling me anything about what's going on."

She says the report is "next to useless" and wants teachers to provide more clear detail about James' progress, "rather than, dare I say it, being PC".

As schools wrap up for summer holidays, thousands of parents are in this mother's shoes.

There are no across-the-board rules about how schools write reports, and principals say many are sent home in a style that reflects the national curriculum, rather than what parents want to know.

When we read James's report to Frances Nelson, who heads the primary teachers' union, the NZEI, as well as Fairburn School in Otahuhu, Auckland, she said it was "at the top end of the jargon scale".

"As a principal, when I read reports like that, I'm inclined to go back to the teacher and say 'sorry, what is that again?' In an ideal world you wouldn't have that kind of jargon in kids' reports. Parents just don't understand it."

Nelson says the jargon crept in during the 90s when schools realised they needed to "protect themselves" and be politically correct.

"But it's gone too far. We need to pull back."

She says schools should survey parents about what they'd like to see in reports. "Common sense should prevail, let's face it."

John Morris is headmaster of boys' state school Auckland Grammar and has been reading the intermediate school reports of new boys for 22 years.

He says there was a definite shift in the 1990s towards jargon and away from test scores. "There's almost less emphasis on academic achievement than on interpersonal skills, which is a bit crazy really.

"As a parent I want to know how well my kids are doing in maths and English, relative to others. Surely that is a school's responsibility.

"I already know that my son or daughter gets on well with other people. What I don't know is how well they read and write. Schools that omit to say that do their parents a bit of a disservice."

A second mother, whose six- year-old daughter brought home her first report last week, calls it "a total waste of time". The school, which she does not want named, tells parents whether the child is above or below "expected levels", but does not explain what that level is or how it is worked out.

"I actually feel totally lost. To me it just means nothing."

She says some parents she knows haven't even bothered reading their child's report, or have looked at it only to find out which classroom they are in next year.

WHAT IT REALLY MEANS

Self-management: Being responsible; making good decisions, plans and goals; being able to persevere and bounce back from bad patches. Working within age appropriate level: Keeping up with the class. HFW: High frequency words - short, commonly used words such as "it", "the" and "a". Mediation skills: Co-operates, asks good questions, listens well. Interpersonal skills: Gets on with other students and teachers. Practises safety procedures: Sticks to rules, is careful, does not hurt him/herself or others. BSM: Beginning School Mathematics - a maths programme for primary schools.

- © Fairfax NZ News