Reporting and assessment : Kindergarten
Kindergarten
The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) Reporting Policy and Requirements states:
“Given that Kindergarten is not a compulsory year of schooling the School Curriculum and Standards Authority does not require schools to formally report on children's achievement and progress in Kindergarten. Reporting on children's progress in Kindergarten is a school system/sector/school decision.”
The Department’s Curriculum Assessment and Reporting (CAR) Policy and Guidelines state:
Principals, in consultation with teaching staff, must develop school-based assessment and reporting plans that:
•
comply with the requirements of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority for students in Pre-primary to Year 10
•
specify how principals and teachers will report achievement of each student from Kindergarten to Year 12 at the end of each semester, including the requirements that Department-endorsed reporting templates are used for Pre-primary to Year 10; and
•
for senior secondary, include processes for the monitoring, recording and reporting of enrolment and achievement data consistent with the requirements of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority.
 
Principals have the final authority to determine the content of the school-based assessment and reporting plan.
In 2016, in response to requests from schools, the Department approved an optional Kindergarten Report template. A school may choose to use the optional Kindergarten Report template as a part of this plan.
Use of this template has been available to all schools from Semester 1, 2017.
The components of the optional Kindergarten report template are:
•
Student learning and development within five learning and development areas
•
Suggestions on how the parent can support the student learning at home;
•
A record of attendance;
•
Teacher and principal overall comments; and
•
Including an optional cover page image.
Most components of the report are optional.
 
Areas of learning and development
The five learning development areas are:
•
Identity
•
Connecting and Contributing
•
Wellbeing
•
Learning and Thinking
•
Communicating
Within each learning development area, descriptors can be rated on a three-point developmental indicator scale.
The descriptors are:
•
Identity
o
Feels safe, secure, accepted and supported
o
Makes choices and organises self and belongings
o
Shows confidence and is willing to have a go
o
Interacts with others in a positive way
•
Connecting and Contributing
o
Participates in group activities
o
Shows respect for others
o
Shows respect for the environment
o
Shows curiosity to learn about the world and its people
•
Wellbeing
o
Interacts with other children and expresses feelings appropriately
o
Demonstrates knowledge and skills for healthy living
o
Participates in physical movement activities
o
Aware of ways to keep healthy and be safe
•
Learning and Thinking
o
Engages in play, exploration, and conversations with others
o
Shows persistence when faced with challenges
o
Demonstrates thinking and learning in various ways
o
Demonstrates knowledge of counting and patterns
o
Demonstrates knowledge of measurement concepts and simple shapes
o
Collects information, sorts, and classifies shapes and objects
•
Communicating
o
Communicates for a range of purposes
o
Aware that other languages are used in homes, school and the community
o
Demonstrates knowledge of sounds in words
o
Listens and responds to a range of texts
o
Demonstrates concepts of print and written symbols
o
Expresses ideas using a range of media - music, art, and dance
o
Uses tools, resources and digital technologies
 
Schools will be able to deselect learning development area descriptors that will not be reported on.
 
Learning development descriptors are rated on a three-point indicator scale.
The default indicator scale is:
•
Well Developed: Your child consistently demonstrates knowledge, skills, or dispositions in this area.
•
Developing - Your child often demonstrates knowledge, skills, or dispositions in this area. They may require assistance at times.
•
Beginning - Your child requires assistance to demonstrate knowledge, skills, or dispositions in this area.
Schools are able to vary the three-point scale indicators. To request a different three-point indicator scale, the school principal will need to log a request through the ICT Self-Service Hub Home - ICT Self-Service Hub (service-now.com)
Up to three images can be included in the report for each learning development area. This is optional and a school can control the visibility of this feature to ensure consistency of the report across all kindergarten classes.
A comment can be recorded for each learning development area.
Supporting the student’s learning at home
This section is optional but can include suggestions for supporting the student’s learning at home. These can be selected from a teacher or school bank and can be edited once added to the report.
Student attendance
Student attendance is drawn from SIS and is reported as half days absent and percentage attendance.
Overall comments
An overall comment can also be recorded by the classroom teacher and the principal.
Cover page image
Schools can also elect to include a saved cover page image or blank frame on the report cover to present an example of the student’s work.
The purpose of this guide is to step through the process of managing the Kindergarten Reports.
Report sample
A sample report indicating the appearance of each aspect is shown below.
Note: Lorem Ipsun text has been used deliberately for comments to avoid unnecessary distraction of content rather than appearance.
 
 
Steps to managing the Kindergarten report process
This guide will take you through the steps of:
1.
Report Options
2.
Group Preferences
3.
Year Group Planning
4.
Report Group Management
5.
Report Data Entry
6.
Recording Signatories
7.
Printing Reports
Kindergarten report options
Kindergarten reports functions are not enabled at a school by default. This allows the school to determine if the optional Kindergarten Report template will form a part of the schools assessment and reporting plan.
Options determine the default behaviour of Reporting to Parents and provide the school with controls that assist with managing report consistency. The Kindergarten Report template has optional features that can be enabled and disabled by the school.
To set the Kindergarten Report options for your school:
1.
Select the Assessment and Reporting Management
2.
Select the School Preferences
3.
Select the Options
4.
Scroll to the Years K to 10 Data Entry Options
5.
Select the Kindergarten Learning Area Comment Limit
This will restrict the data entry of Learning Development Area comments to the number of characters selected. A warning will appear on screen if a teacher approaches or exceeds the set comment limit.
Comment limit options are 600, 1200, 1800, 2400 or 4000 characters.
6.
Select the Allow recording of images on the Kindergarten report option if the facility to record learning development area images is to appear in the Kindergarten Individual data entry window.
When this option is deselected, teachers are not able to record learning development area images and images will not appear on printed reports.
7.
Select the Cover Page Art Available on the Kindergarten Report option if either a saved piece of student art or a frame to add art manually is to be printed on the report cover.
If this option is de-selected, print options to include student art or a frame on the front cover of the student report will not be available when reports are printed.
8.
Click on Save
Group preferences
The Group Preferences window defines the student academic years that will be reported in each report type.
To maintain Group Preferences:
1.
Select the Assessment and Reporting Management
2.
Select the School Preferences
3.
Select the Group Preferences
4.
It is recommended that the kindergarten column contains the following settings for automatic creation of reporting groups.
•
Form Classes – checked
•
Timetabled Teaching sets – unchecked
•
Other Student Groups – unchecked
•
Year Groups – K
•
Assign Learning Areas By – Year Group
5.
Click on the icon to save any changes made
Year group planning
Year group planning sets the automated rules for creation of reporting groups.
To record Year Group Planning:
1.
Select the Assessment and Reporting Management
2.
Select the School Preferences
3.
Select the Year Group Planning
4.
Select the Calendar Year
5.
Select the Kindergarten Year Group
6.
Select the learning development areas and their descriptors that will be reported
Note: Right clicking a checkbox will select or deselect the item and all subcomponents.
7.
Click on the icon to save any changes made.
Reporting group maintenance
The reporting group maintenance will define the classes that will be reported on and assign the students and teachers to those classes.
Kindergarten reporting groups are managed in the same way as other reporting groups. The only difference is that they are associated with learning development areas and focus items rather than learning areas and contexts.
If the group preferences and year group planning areas have been correctly defined and Kindergarten students are defined in SIS classes, these classes should appear in the Reporting Group Maintenance window by default and no further changes are necessary.
To automatically add kindergarten groups based on SIS form groups:
1.
Select the Reporting Group Maintenance
2.
Select the required Reporting Period
3.
Select the All Year Groups drop-list and choose K (Kindergarten)
4.
Click on the Auto-populate from SIS icon
5.
Select the Year duration and the Retain existing duration is deselected
6.
Click on Next
7.
Select the Kindergarten form classes to be added
8.
Click on Select
The kindergarten classes will be added as groups and contain the students, teachers and group learning areas
Note: Now that the year group planner has been created for kindergarten classes they will be created automatically in following calendar years.
To manually add a Kindergarten reporting group:
1.
Select the Reporting Group Maintenance
2.
Select the required Reporting Period
3.
Click on the Add Group icon
 
4.
Enter the Group Name
5.
Select the (K)indergarten Type
6.
Select the group Duration (not selectable in Semester 2)
7.
Click on OK
The group will be added to the Reporting Group list
8.
Click on the Add Students icon
9.
Enter the Student Search parameters to identify the students in the group
10.
Click on Find
11.
Select the required students from the list
12.
Click on Select
The selected students will be added to the students list
13.
Click on the Add Teacher icon
14.
Enter the search parameters in the Teacher Search tool
15.
Click on Find
16.
Select the Teachers(s) required
17.
Click on OK
18.
Click on Yes to assign the selected teachers to the students in the group
 
To maintain learning development areas and focus items Kindergarten reporting groups:
1.
Select the Reporting Group Maintenance
2.
Select the required Reporting Period
3.
Select the first Kindergarten group
 
4.
Click on the Add Learning Areas icon
5.
Click the learning development area and descriptor checkboxes to select or deselect the items
•
Checked items will appear in the data entry window and the student’s report.
•
Left click on a learning development area checkbox to deselect the learning area and all items or to add the learning development area.
•
Left click on a descriptor checkbox to select or deselect the item.
•
Right click a learning development area checkbox to select or deselect the learning development area and all descriptors.
 
6.
Click on OK to save the changes
Report data entry
Report data entry for kindergarten groups follows the same processes as for other groups. Data can be entered by group or individual student. It is recommended that the individual screen is used to report kindergarten report data so that all aspects of the report can be managed including the cover page image and learning support suggestions.
To enter report data for individual students:
1.
Select the Report Data Entry main menu item
2.
Select the Individual View
3.
Select the required kindergarten group
4.
Click on the Report Data Entry icon
5.
Select the required student from the student drop-down
Aspects of the report are:
•
Learning Development Area descriptor ratings
•
Learning Development Area comments
•
Learning Development Area images
•
Learning Support recommendations
•
Overall Comments
•
Principal Comments
•
Cover page image
 
There is no overall result for student progress in Learning Development Areas.
Student progress within a learning development area is described by reporting progress in optional descriptors, recording optional images demonstrating student activity or recording a learning development area comment.
6.
To enter a learning development area, focus item rating:
•
Click in the cell under the rating heading
o
To deselect a rating click on the selected cell
o
To change a selection, click on the required rating
o
To select or deselect the same rating for all descriptors, click on the rating header
7.
To View a previous result (in Semester 2 Only)
•
Click Show Previous results
8.
To enter a learning development area comment:
•
Click in the comment cell to type the student comment
o
Scroll bars will be added to the comment window once the available space has been filled.
o
A warning will be provided when the comment limit selected by the school is approached.
•
Click on the Spell Check icon to check the spelling and grammar of the selected comment.
•
Click on the Comment Bank icon to select a comment from the teacher or school comment bank
o
Drag the selected comment from the comment bank into the learning development area comment space
To add a learning development area image:
•
Click on the View Portfolio Items icon
Note: The View Portfolio Items icon will not appear where the school has deselected the option in the school options settings.
 
•
Drag the required image or PDF from your image file and drop into image space
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
or
•
Click on the Add Portfolio Item icon and Browse to the location of the required image
•
Enter an image label or comment in the space provided (optional)
The image will be displayed in the Portfolio Items window
o
Up to 3 images or PDF’s can be added for each learning development area
o
To remove an image click on the Delete image icon
o
Click on the Rotate the image anti-clockwise icon to rotate the image anti-clockwise
o
Click on the Rotate the image clockwise icon to rotate the image clockwise
•
Click on OK
•
The learning development area images icon will change to indicate the number of images recorded.
 
To enter learning support suggestions:
 
1.
Learning support is optional but provides a mechanism for the teacher to suggest ways that parents can assist with the students’ learning and development at home. Learning support suggestions will appear as a bullet point list on the students report.
To add any learning support suggestions:
•
Click on the Learning Support tab
•
Type each learning support suggestion on a new line
o
Suggestions can be copied from an external source and pasted into the Learning Support tab
o
Suggestions can be saved into the Student Support Bank by clicking on Student Support Bank icon. This will operate in the same way as the comment bank and can have school or teacher items.
Note: Learning support suggestions can be entered for multiple students. Instructions are provided at the end of the report data entry section.
2.
Overall comments will appear at the end of the report and provide an opportunity for the Kindergarten teacher to provide additional information to the parent. The kindergarten teacher’s name will appear following the overall comment.
To enter the overall comment:
•
Select the Overall Comments tab
•
Click in the comment cell to type the student comment
o
Scroll bars will be added to the comment window once the available space has been filled.
o
A warning will be provided when the comment limit selected by the school is approached.
•
Click on the Spell Check icon to check the spelling and grammar of the selected comment.
•
Click on the Comment Bank icon to select a comment from the teacher or school comment bank
o
Drag the selected comment from the comment bank into the learning development area comment space
3.
Principal comments will appear at the end of the report and provide an opportunity for the principal or other school administrator to provide additional information to the parent. The principal or administrator’s name and role will appear following the principal comment.
To enter the principal comment:
•
Select the Principal Comments tab
•
Click in the comment cell to type the student comment
o
Scroll bars will be added to the comment window once the available space has been filled.
o
A warning will be provided when the comment limit selected by the school is approached.
•
Click on the Spell Check icon to check the spelling and grammar of the selected comment.
•
Click on the Comment Bank icon to select a comment from the teacher or school comment bank
o
Drag the selected comment from the comment bank into the learning development area comment space
 
4.
A cover page image (individualised or common) may be printed on the front cover of the student report when saved and the option to include the image is selected when the report is printed.
Note: This option will only appear when the school has selected this feature in the school options section.
To add a cover page image
•
Select the individual view in the Report Data Entry –Select Group screen
•
Select the Kindergarten group
•
Click on the Manage the Student Learning Area Image icon
•
Drag the image file or PDF into the image space in the cover image window
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Remove an added image by clicking on the Delete icon
o
Replace an image by dragging a replacement image into the image space
o
Rotate the image anti-clockwise by clicking on the Rotate image anti-clockwise icon
o
Rotate the image clockwise by clicking on the Rotate image clockwise icon
o
A label can be recorded for the image. This will appear on the report cover left justified below the image.
•
Click on OK
1.
Click on the icon to save the changes made to the student report data.
 
To add a learning development area image for multiple students:
•
Select the Report Data Entry
•
Select the Kindergarten group
•
Click on the Edit group icon
•
Select the required learning development area from the learning area drop-down
•
Select the students by dragging the mouse over the image icon for the students in the group
•
Right-click in the selection space
•
Click on Add Image icon and browse to the required image or drag the required image(s) or PDF into the image space
•
Click on OK
Note: Images will need to be removed from students individually
 
To enter learning support suggestions for multiple students:
Learning support suggestions are a required component of the report.
To edit Kindergarten learning support suggestions for multiple students:
•
Select the Report Data Entry
•
Select the Kindergarten group(s)
•
Click on the Learning Support icon from the right hand toolbar
•
Select the student(s) in the list to be edited
•
Add the learning support items for the selected students by:
o
Clicking in the footer text area and type the learning support recommendations
o
Click on the Comment Bank icon and drag saved learning support items to the footer text area
Note:
Learning support items will be printed on the student report as a bulleted list. It is not necessary to enter bullets or symbols.
If more than one student is selected and the students contain the same learning support items, the current text will appear in the footer and can be edited for the selected students.
If more than one student is selected and the students contain different learning support items, the word MIXED will appear in the footer text area.
o
If text is added after the word MIXED, the text will be appended to each student.
o
If the word MIXED is replaced with new text, this will replace the text for the selected students.
Click on the Print learning support suggestions icon to print the learning support items for the group.
Click on the Spell Check icon to perform a spell and grammar check on the learning support items for the selected students.
Click on the Find/Replace icon to find and replace text within the learning support suggestions for the selected students.
Click on the Save icon to save the changes to the learning support suggestions.
 
To enter the cover page image for multiple students:
•
Select the Report Data Entry main menu item
•
Select the Kindergarten group(s)
•
Click on the Overall Comments icon from the right hand toolbar
The current status of the cover page image is indicated by the icon to the left of the student’s Form.
o
indicates the student does not have a cover page image
o
indicates a cover page image has been recorded
o
Click on the cover page image icon that appears to the left of the form to add, remove or replace the cover page image for a student
•
Select the student(s) in the list to be edited
o
Click on the Manage the student cover page image in the right-hand toolbar to add the same image to the selected students
Note: If a student in the selected list has a previously saved image, this will be replaced.
o
Click on the Delete the student report cover page image icon to remove the cover page image for the selected student.
 
Kindergarten signatories
It will be necessary to record signatory information for the kindergarten year group. Once recorded, this signatory information will roll forward to future periods.
To record kindergarten signatory information:
1.
Select the Report and Print Management
2.
Select the Printing Setup
3.
Select the Signatories tab
4.
Select the three signatory cells in the kindergarten row
5.
Click on the Edit Signatory icon
6.
Enter the Overall Comments signatory details. These will relate to the classroom teacher.
•
Enter ‘Kindergarten teacher’ as the Label
•
Select Include space for signature if the kindergarten teacher will sign the reports (this is not usual)
•
Select the Use electronic signature checkbox if the saved copy of the teacher’s electronic signature will be printed on the report.
7.
Enter the Additional Signatory details
•
Leave blank if an additional signatory is not used
8.
Enter the Principal Signatory
•
Enter the signatory label
•
Select the signatory name using the Staff Search icon
•
If an electronic signatory has been recorded for the selected staff member, an image will appear in the Signature cell.
•
To use the signature on the printed report select the Use checkbox
To record the electronic signature of a staff member:
o
Save a copy of the signature as an image file (jpg, bmp, png)
o
Click on the Upload Signature button
o
Enter search parameters and select the staff member
o
Click on the Add Signature icon
o
Browse to the saved signature
o
Click on Upload
Printing Kindergarten reports
The printing of kindergarten reports will be consistent with other academic year groups.
To print Kindergarten reports:
1.
Select the Report and Print Management
2.
Select the Generate Reports
3.
Select the File Options
•
If all reports are to be printed to a single multipage pdf file, select the “Print one large document with every report” option
This is the usual process and is the easiest option to print reports
•
If an individual pdf file is to be created for each student, select the “Print each report in its own document” option.
4.
Select the Print Options
•
Recommended options have been shown as selected.
Options are:
Option
Description
Print Cover Pages
The supplied pre-printed cover pages re not appropriate for kindergarten students. Cover pages should be printed with reports.
This item should be selected.
Include Cover page Background
When selected the Public Education image will be added to the report cover header
Include School Logo
When selected, the saved school logo will be included on the report cover
Include Student Art
This option will only appear if the School Option to include cover page art was previously selected. When selected, if a student cover image was recorded during data entry, it will be included on the cover.
Include Student Art Frame
If selected a frame will be printed on the report cover either surrounding a saved student cover image or around an empty space where a piece of student work can be attached.
Print Explanatory Notes
Explanatory notes pages will not be provided for kindergarten reports as schools are able to change the configuration of the report. When selected, saved explanatory notes will be printed with the student report.
Print EAL/D Explanatory Notes
This is not appropriate and should not be selected.
Format for 2-sided Printing
When selected a blank page will be inserted following a student’s report if here is an odd number of pages to ensure that reports printed 2-sided will begin a new student on a new page.
Page Break before Primary PSL/ABE
This is not appropriate and should not be selected.
Print Report Data
When selected, the student Learning and Development Area data and overall comments will be printed.
Include LA/Contexts Without Results
When deselected, Learning and Development Areas that do not have data recorded will not be printed.
Justify Comments
When selected, Learning and Development Area comments, Overall comments and Principal comments will be printed as justified.
Include Community Service Hours
This is not appropriate and should not be selected.
Include Attendance
When selected the number of half days absent and percentage attendance for the student will be printed.
Include OLNA Results
This is not appropriate and should not be selected.
Include Attached Images
When selected, any Learning and Development Area images recorded will be included on the report.
 
 
5.
Select the Students
•
Click on the Select Students by Year Group icon
•
Select the K year group
•
Click on Find
•
Select the students to be printed from the list
Note: If no students are selected all will be included
•
Click on Select
6.
Click on the Generate button
•
Draft reports will be printed for students that are unlocked.
•
To lock students so that final copies of the report can be produced:
o
Click on the Manage Locking for Data Entry icon
o
Move the lock status for the K row to Locked
o
Click on OK
Note: Data entry will now be read only and changes to the student report data will not be possible.
 
http://www.education.wa.edu.au
Phone (08) 9264 5555
customer.service.centre@education.wa.edu.au