Ontario Progress Reports Decoded: What Do Those Checkboxes Really Mean?

It's that time of year again! Ontario elementary progress reports will soon be coming home, and you might find yourself wondering what those three little checkboxes actually mean.

Progressing Very Well. Progressing Well. Progressing With Difficulty.

Seems pretty straightforward, right?

Well, after 20 years of teaching, I can tell you that deciding which box to check isn't always as simple as you might think.

Let me explain.

In Ontario, students in Grades 1–8 receive a progress report in the fall, usually sometime between late October and November.

Unlike the report cards that come home in February and June, progress reports don't include letter grades or percentages for academic subjects. Instead, they're meant to give parents an early look at how their child is doing.

Keep in mind that teachers have only known many of their students for about six to eight weeks at this point. We're still getting to know their strengths, the areas they find challenging, and how they learn best. We've also only covered a small portion of the curriculum.

So really, a progress report is a snapshot of how things are going so far.

If your child is in Kindergarten, their fall report looks a little different!

Instead of the three progress checkboxes, Kindergarten students receive a Communication of Learning: Initial Observations report. It includes personalized comments about how your child is settling into school, what they're learning, their strengths, and their next steps.

These observations reflect learning across the four areas of the Kindergarten program, including belonging, self-regulation, literacy and math, and problem-solving.

Kindergarten families receive two more detailed Communication of Learning reports later in the school year.

You can read more about the Kindergarten report on the Ontario Ministry of Education website.

Progressing Very Well

Your child is making particularly strong progress toward the curriculum expectations that have been taught so far. They're showing a strong understanding of the concepts and skills they've been learning.

Progressing Well

Your child is making the progress we'd generally expect at this point in the school year. They're demonstrating an appropriate understanding of the material being taught.

I want to emphasize something here. Progressing Well is a good thing! It doesn't mean your child is just getting by or that they should be doing better. It means they are meeting the grade-level expectations.

Progressing With Difficulty

Your child is having difficulty making the expected progress in the subject. There may be certain skills or concepts they're struggling with, and they may need additional instruction or support.

It's also important to understand that these indicators don't directly translate into A, B, C or D grades. They're telling you how your child is progressing right now, not assigning a final level of achievement.

This is something I think parents might find interesting.

Teachers don't just look at test marks or average assignment scores when deciding how a student is progressing.

In Ontario, we're expected to gather evidence of learning in three main ways:

We consider all of this information when deciding how a student is progressing.

And sometimes it's a tricky decision!

For example, I've taught students whose reading skills were right where they should be for their grade, but whose writing skills were significantly behind.

Here's the challenge. On the progress report, I don't get to check one box for reading and another for writing. I have to choose one indicator for Language as a whole.

Math can be similar. A student might be doing really well with number sense but struggling with geometry.

So what do we do?

We look at the learning we've covered so far, how independently the student can complete tasks, how much support they're needing, and whether they're demonstrating an understanding of what we've taught.

I also really like involving students in assessing their own learning. I'll often ask them what they think they're doing well in and what they're finding difficult. Their answers can be quite revealing!

Sometimes choosing an indicator is easy, particularly when a student is clearly doing very well or experiencing significant difficulty. Other times, it's a much closer decision.

That's why I always encourage parents to look beyond the checkbox and read the teacher's comments too.

First, I wouldn't panic. But I would want to understand what's going on.

Progressing With Difficulty means your child's teacher has noticed that they're having trouble making the expected progress in that subject.

That doesn't necessarily mean they're struggling with everything.

Remember my example about the student who was reading well but having difficulty with writing? That child may have many strengths in Language but still need support in one important area.

The same applies to math.

What matters is finding out exactly which skills your child is struggling with.

A child who has difficulty reading unfamiliar words needs different support from a child who reads well but struggles to understand what they've read.

Sometimes extra instruction or small-group support at school can make a difference. Other times, some targeted practice at home or additional intervention may be helpful.

The important thing is that we understand the difficulty and have a plan to address it.

And since we're still early in the school year, there's time for that support to make a difference.

I've always believed that parents should never be surprised by something they read on their child's report card.

In my classroom, if I'm giving a student Progressing With Difficulty in any subject, I make a point of calling their parents before the report goes home.

I want them to know what I'm seeing, what their child is finding difficult, and what we're doing at school to help.

I also want to hear what they're noticing at home. Sometimes those conversations give me a much better understanding of what's going on with a student.

Of course, every teacher communicates a little differently, but ideally, parents should already be aware of significant learning concerns before receiving the progress report.

If you haven't heard anything and see Progressing With Difficulty on your child's report, don't hesitate to reach out to the teacher and ask for clarification.

If your child receives Progressing With Difficulty, I'd suggest starting with three simple questions:

You don't need to wait for an official parent-teacher interview to ask these questions. Teachers can arrange a phone call, meeting or email update when there's a concern.

And if your child is Progressing Well or Progressing Very Well, I'd still encourage you to attend the fall interview. It's a wonderful opportunity to get to know your child's teacher and build a positive relationship early in the school year.

I know parents want their children to do well at school. And I know that seeing Progressing With Difficulty on a report can be upsetting, especially if you weren't expecting it.

But try to remember that the purpose of these reports isn't to label children or predict how they'll do for the rest of the year.

It's to let you know how things are going, celebrate what's going well, and identify where some extra help might be needed.

And if there's one thing I'd really like parents to take away from this, it's that Progressing Well is something to feel good about too!

Not every child needs to be Progressing Very Well in every subject.

What matters is that your child is learning, making progress, and getting the support they need along the way.

Coming soon: What do those learning skills really mean? We'll look at the E, G, S and N ratings and why they don't always match your child's academic achievement.

Talk soon,

Susie

Did someone forward this to you? If a teacher, friend or fellow parent sent you this issue, you can get School, Decoded delivered straight to your inbox every Sunday. Practical teacher-informed advice to help you better understand what’s happening at school and how to support your child. 

Teachers: feel free to forward or share this issue with families who might find it helpful! That’s exactly what School, Decoded is here for!

School, Decoded is an independent publication reflecting my own views and experiences as an educator. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by my employer or any school board.