Assessment
What do I write in a report card comment for a struggling student?
For a struggling student, name a real strength first, describe the difficulty as a specific skill (not a character trait), and give one concrete next step the family can support — honest but never discouraging.
A comment for a struggling student has to be honest, specific, and still hopeful — a parent should finish it knowing the truth and knowing what to do.
- Open with a genuine strength. Not a throwaway line — something real you've seen. "Diego keeps trying even when the work is hard, and he asks for help instead of shutting down."
- Describe the struggle as a skill, not a label. Avoid "is behind" or "doesn't try." Name the specific skill: "He's still building fluency with multi-digit subtraction, which is making multi-step problems harder than they need to be."
- Give one forward step. Concrete and supportable at home — a five-minute practice, a routine, a thing to notice.
Stay away from comparisons to other students and from vague worry. One clear, kind, specific paragraph does more than a list of deficits. Writing that tone for every struggling student in your class is exactly the slow part worth automating.
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