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105 Report Card Comments to Use and Adapt

Just about every teacher agrees: report card comments are important. But there are
few who actually look forward to writing them.
Why?
Because every instructor knows working under tight deadlines to create upwards of 20
unique and detailed reports isn’t exactly straightforward (or particularly fun).
And while no one at your school knows your students better than you do, writing valuable
report card comments for each of them can be a huge challenge.
That’s why we created a list of 105 sample report card comments to help you find ideas,
inspiration, and insights while writing your own assessments.
The report card comments in this list will help you:

● Instill a growth mindset in students

● Write stronger leads and use livelier language in your evaluations

● Build stronger home-to-school connections through written assessments

● Choose the right phrasing when writing positive and negative report card
comments

Character Traits (Positive Comments)

● ________ is confident, positive and a great role model for his/her classmates.

● ________ is frequently among the first to help and mentor other classmates. He/she
is a valuable part of the classroom.

● ________ has shown excellent ability to set goals and be persistent in achieving
them.
● ________ is interested in his/her own learning, listens attentively, and makes a solid
effort to avoid distractions that could interrupt the learning process.

● ________ is accountable and responsible. He/she makes smart decisions, admits

mistakes and listens to opportunities to improve.
● ________ relates well to classmates and is appreciative of different perspectives
and experiences.

● ________ manages his/her emotions maturely and responds to feedback

appropriately.
● ________ always looks for ways to be helpful in the classroom.

● ________ is dependable and reliable, follows directions effectively, and follows

through on his/her commitments to him/herself and others.

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 ● ________ is thoughtful, insightful and thorough in written and verbal communication,
and has a talent for expressing his/her ideas clearly.

● ________ works well with classmates in group work and often takes a leadership
role.
● ________ shows a positive attitude with classmates in group projects and activities,
and both takes and gives suggestions and directions effectively.

● ________ shows maturity when solving problems with classmates and uses good
communication.
● ________ excels at applying what he/she learns in the classroom to real-world and
real-life situations.

● It has been a pleasure to have _______’s enthusiasm, positivity and maturity in my

class.
● ________ is an enthusiastic member of the class and shows willingness to learn.

● ________ shows responsible behavior, works well with a group and shows
appreciation for the efforts of classmates.

● ________ is focused during class and contributes ideas willingly.

● ________ performs independent work with confidence and focus.

● ________ works independently and takes pride in work done well.

● ________ is focused in class and willingly participates in group discussion.

● ________ is very conscientious and shows excellent effort and care with daily work.

● ________ demonstrates a willing and conscientious effort in his/her daily work.

● ________ shows a conscientious effort to learn.

● ________ has done a great job facing and overcoming big challenges this year.
Please continue to nurture and encourage this behavior over the summer.
● ________ shows responsibility and follows directions whenever they are given.

● ________ listens to and follows directions precisely and attentively.

● ________ follows directions promptly and accurately.

Character Traits (Needs Improvement)

● ________ is encouraged to demonstrate more responsible attitudes and behavior in
the classroom.

● ________ needs to show more appropriate behavior when interacting with

classmates.
● ________ needs to pay attention to the use of appropriate language at all times

● ________ requires encouragement to listen attentively during group sharing times.

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 ● ________ needs to listen to directions more attentively during lessons.

● ________ would benefit from showing a greater desire to contribute ideas in class.

● ________ needs frequent reminders to be attentive during instructions and lessons.

● ________ needs to improve his/her cooperation in group settings. He/she should

work on voicing feelings and opinions and listening to others.

● ________ needs to improve his/her work with others. He/she must ensure to accept
a share of the work when participating in a group assignment.
● ________ needs to improve on working independently and be sure to ask for
assistance only when it is needed.

● ________ often struggles to focus in class, which harms his/her ability to engage
well with class activities and assignments.
● ________ is encouraged to use time wisely to finish tasks in the time required.

● ________ is encouraged to be more responsible in completing tasks without needing

regular reminders.

● ________ needs to show by the quality of work and use of class time that he/she is
properly engaged in the learning process.
● ________ consistently needs reminders to use time effectively.

Math (General Comments)

● ________ is having considerable difficulty with math. I recommend he/she work on
studying ________ and ________. This extra practice will help him/her feel more
relaxed when doing math in the classroom. Please contact me if you need
materials to get him/her started.
● ________ has a good understanding of all math concepts taught so far this year.
He/she continues to turn in excellent assignments and especially enjoys hands-on
math activities.
● ________ has a positive attitude towards math but continues to have trouble in a
few key areas. He should practice every evening at home. Areas that need extra
attention are ________ and ________ .

● ________ demonstrates a good understanding of all math concepts studied and

communicates with clarity and good justification of reasoning.
● ________ needs to work on increasing his/her speed in math facts. He/she should
continue with daily practice with a focus on addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division.

● ________ seems to need continuous encouragement in math. He/she continues to

struggle with basic math concepts for his/her grade level.

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 ● ________ is having a difficult time in certain areas of math. Areas in need of extra
work are ________ . Working on these problem areas every night would help
improve his/her learning outcomes.

● ________ is struggling to keep up in math. He/she could benefit from practicing the
multiplication table and should also continue to practice the long division process.
● ________ is easily distracted during math lessons and behavioral issues are
interfering with his/her learning. We will be working on more difficult subjects and
he/she will struggle if he/she does not pay attention in class.

● ________ is having trouble with math tests. He/she does well on assignments, but
does not seem to retain information for tests. I always give a week’s notice before
tests, so please be sure ________ studies and adequately prepares for them as
they approach.

Addition and Subtraction

● ________ is able to calculate addition and subtraction facts to 18 with confidence
and accuracy.

● ________ is becoming more able to calculate addition and subtraction facts to 18

with confidence and accuracy.
● ________ requires more time and practice in calculating addition and subtraction
facts to 18

● ________ needs to put more effort into learning to calculate addition and
subtraction facts to 18.

Skip Counting
● ________ is able to skip count forward and backward by twos, fives, tens, and
hundreds to complete short patterns.

● ________ is learning to skip count forward and backward by twos, fives, tens, and
hundreds to complete short patterns.
● ________ needs practice with skip counting forward and backward by twos, fives,
tens, and hundreds to complete short patterns.

● ________ needs considerable practice with skip counting forward and backward by
twos, fives, tens, and hundreds to complete short patterns.

Place Value
● ________ is able to demonstrate place value concepts to give meaning to numbers
from zero to 1000, identifying ones, tens, and hundreds.

● ________ is developing an understanding of place value concepts to give meaning

to numbers zero to identifying ones, tens, and hundreds.

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 ● ________ requires more time and practice to demonstrate place value concepts to
give meaning to numbers 0 to 1000, identifying ones, tens, and 100s.

Comparing Numbers

● ________ is able to compare numbers to 1000 using terms such as greater or less
and greatest or least.
● ________ is learning to compare numbers to 1000 using terms such as greater or
less and greatest or least.

● ________ requires support to compare numbers to 1000 using terms such as greater
or less and greatest or least.
● ________ demonstrates a limited understanding in comparing numbers to 1000 using
terms such as greater or less and greatest or least.

Addition with regrouping

● ________ can demonstrate and explain the process of addition of whole numbers up
to 100, with and without regrouping.
● ________ requires ongoing support to demonstrate and explain the process of
addition of whole numbers up to 100 with and without regrouping.

● ________ requires considerable attention and individual instruction to demonstrate

and explain the process of addition of whole numbers up to 100 with and without
regrouping.

Word problems
● ________ is able to complete word problems using one- and two-digit addition,
showing his/her work and writing a full sentence answer.

● ________ is becoming more confident in his/her ability to complete word problems

using one- and two-digit addition, showing his/her work and writing a full sentence
answer.

Language (General)
● ________ ’s (comprehension, spelling, reading) has greatly improved, but he/she still
needs extra work in (comprehension, spelling, reading). Please contact me if you
need supplemental learning materials to use at home for practice.

● ________ is conscious of putting care into his/her daily writing work, and frequently
goes beyond the minimum requirements for assignments.
● ________ has trouble with his handwriting. I believe he/she can form letters well, but
has to slow down and take a little more time. Neater handwriting will improve
his/her schoolwork overall.

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 ● ________ makes a good effort to make his/her handwriting legible. He/she is able to
print on the lines, use good spacing, and form letters correctly.

● ________ needs to focus on her spelling. More improvement is needed in the areas
of (dictation, weekly spelling tests, sentence structure). Daily practice at home will
help improve his/her results.
● ________ shows the ability to quickly use spelling, punctuation and grammar rules
that were recently taught. He/she is able to quickly learn new skills and is eager to
apply them to his/her writing.

● ________ is having considerable difficulty with reading, particularly with fluency and
comprehension.
● ________ speaks well in front of the class, but requires improvement in written
language. He/she is having trouble with (dictation, copying words correctly, story
writing, creating logical sequences). Further practice is needed in this area.

● ________ continues to make excellent progress in spelling and reading. He/she

works hard to submit work that is free of grammatical errors.
● ________ has difficulty remembering previously- discussed writing skills and often
makes errors with punctuation, grammar, and overall sentence structure. Basic
writing skills need improvement.

Reading Responses

● ________ is able to offer direct responses to his/her readings and supports ideas
with sound reasoning and specific examples.
● ________ is learning to offer more direct responses to her reading experiences
supported by reasons, examples, and details.

● ________ needs frequent support to offer direct responses to his/her reading

experiences supported by reasons, examples, and details.

Reading comprehension
● ________ shows good ability when completing reading comprehension tests.

● ________ would benefit from extra practice with reading aloud and discussion of
content.

● ________ consistently demonstrates comprehension of short spoken texts by

answering questions, and explaining the events described.
● ________ consistently reads grade-level material independently.

● ________ uses good editing skills and correctly places capitals, quotation marks,
question marks, apostrophes, commas, and periods.

● ________ is doing a good job of breaking a story into paragraphs

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 ● ________ determines various forms of writing and identifies important ideas
through the development of insightful questions and answers.

● ________ is able to analyze character actions, story plots, and shows strong fluency
with reading.

Response Journal
● ________ uses correct spelling, grammar and punctuation when writing simple
sentences.

● ________ is encouraged to show increased attention to the use of correct spelling,

grammar and punctuation with general writing skills.
● ________ needs more time and practice in the use of correct spelling, grammar and
punctuation with general writing skills.

● ________ requires considerable assistance to achieve the correct spelling,

grammar and punctuation when writing simple sentences.

Note taking
● ________ shows an excellent understanding of note taking from lectures and
readings in preparation for tests and assignments.

● ________ requires ongoing support to develop an understanding of note taking

from lectures and readings in preparation for tests .

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