Communication between school and parents has become a very important issue in education. Recording of the learners' progress is also very important. Recording and reporting are communication devices for relevant stakeholders. They can be used to support the educator's memory, to develop links between parents and schooling, to promote teamwork and to further understand the needs of learners. According to Maree and Fraser (2004) recording and reporting are closely linked but are still separate activities. Maree and Fraser (2004) maintain that recording assessment is the detailed record keeping of learner's performance and reporting involves the presentation of the information about the learner.
The Government Gazette (Department of Education, 2007) has very clear guidelines as to the way reporting and recording in the Foundation Phase has to be done. The Government Gazette (Department of Education, 2007) also states that the language in which recording and reporting is done should be in accordance with the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) and national codes must be used for recording and reporting purposes. Comments should be used to qualify learner performance. As set
out in the Government Gazette (Department of Education, 2007) the national codes and descriptors for recording and reporting in the Foundation Phase are as follows:
Table 1: Codes and descriptors for recording in Foundation Phase
RATING CODE DESCRIPTION OF COMPETENCE
4 Outstanding/ Excellent Achievement 3 Satisfactory Achievement
2 Partial Achievement
1 Not Achieved
11.1. RECORDING
Recording as suggested in the Government Gazette (Department of Education, 2006) is a process in which the educator documents the level of a learner's performance and in South African schools. This should indicate the progress towards the achievement of outcomes set in the National Curriculum Statement. This document also explains that records should be used to monitor learning and to plan ahead and educators are required to record learner performance in all formal assessment tasks. According to the Department of Education Assessment Policy in the General Education and Training Band Grades R-9 & ABET (Department of Education, 1998a), cumulative evidence of learner achievement must be recorded and these records should accompany all learners throughout their learning experience. The requirements for formal recorded assessment for the Foundation Phase as emphasised in the Government Gazette (Department of Education, 2007) has been set out in Table 2 below:
Table 2: Number of formal recorded assessment tasks for Foundation Phase
LEARNING PROGRAMME TERM 1 TERM 2 TERM 3 TERM 4 TOTAL
Literacy 4 4 4 4 16
Additional Language (Optional in Grades 1&2)
2 2 2 2 8
Numeracy 3 3 3 3 12
Life Skills 1 1 1 1 4
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All records should be kept in school and must be available at all times. A Foundation Phase Educator must have an assessment portfolio. According to the South African Government Gazette (Department of Education, 2007), the educator's portfolio means a collection of all planning of assessment, including the assessment tasks and assessment tools for both formal and informal assessment. It should include record sheets as well. Clemson and Clemson (1996) claims that an inadequate record may not only be a sign that an educator is not taking his or her assessment role seriously, but may also be an indication that learners' achievements and potential do not matter to the educator. In short, scrappy records may mean that the educator simply does not care nor has an idea of the importance of assessment. Johnson, Hill, and Turnstall (1992) alleges that how best to keep records on learners' progress is a challenge to many educators.
11.2. REPORTING
Reporting as suggested in the Government Gazette (Department of Education, 2007) is a process of communicating learner performance to learners, parents, schools and other stakeholders. As explained in the document, learner performance can be reported in a number of ways such as report cards, parents' meeting, school visitation days, parent-teacher conferences, phone calls, letters, class or school newsletters, etc.
A formal report card should be sent to parents at least once a term. In some cases the report card is often the only means of communication between the school and parent.
Nowadays there is a tendency to invite the parents to discuss the school report card. It may be merely an invitation to sign the report card to indicate that it has been received and parents are free to make a comment on the report card or an appointment can be set up so that parents and educators can interact on a more personal level.
Most schools have their own format of the report card and it is up to the individual schools to decide upon the exact design of the report card. However the Government Gazette (Department of Education, 2007) provides an example of a report card for the Foundation Phase which requires the following information e.g. name of school, year, term, name of learner, date of birth, learning areas, codes and descriptor, comments, dates for school closing and opening, signature of principal, educator, parent and it provides the national rating code as set out in Table 1. Space for the school stamp is
also provided. Being a formal document, and one which is liable to be produced as evidence, it is obvious that care must be taken as to what comments are made by the educator. It must be acceptably phrased as well as accurately written. Often Heads of Department have a style of writing, the report comments. In some schools it is considered friendly to use the learner's first name. Keating (1969) makes it clear that the results of the assessments on the report card should be based on a range of different kinds of evidence, including tests, work in exercise books, files or flip files, individual or group projects and records of spoken presentations. Johnson et al. (1992) points out that the London Local Education Authorities work, reveals that the report card is required to reveal to parents what the learner has learnt and what the learner is good at or may need help with. In other words, a report card communicates the academic progress of the learner to parents.