Art and Music Report Card Comments That Go Deeper Than 'Enjoys Class'

Why Specials Comments Get Overlooked

Art and music comments are often the last ones written and the quickest ones composed. The result is a row of generic phrases: "enjoys art," "participates in music," "shows creativity." Families deserve better, and specialists work too hard for their subject to be summarized in three words.

Good art and music comments reflect real skill growth, process habits, and the specific content students are engaging with.

Art Comment Language

Technique and skill:

• "is developing control in using watercolor techniques, including wet-on-wet blending and color mixing"
• "demonstrates strong understanding of proportion and is applying it to portrait drawing with increasing accuracy"
• "experiments with different materials confidently and makes thoughtful choices about which medium fits the artistic goal"

Creative process and reflection:

• "approaches art projects with persistence and revises work based on observation rather than stopping at the first version"
• "is developing the habit of evaluating artwork using vocabulary from our critique discussions"
• "takes creative risks and produces original work that reflects personal ideas rather than copying expected results"

Music Comment Language

Skills and musicianship:

• "can read basic rhythmic notation accurately and is applying this to our recorder and percussion work"
• "demonstrates strong pitch matching and contributes confidently to part-singing"
• "is developing steady beat internalization, which is showing up in improved ensemble playing"

Habits and participation:

• "listens actively during music instruction and applies feedback quickly during performance practice"
• "brings genuine engagement to every class and is building the musical vocabulary to talk about what they are hearing and creating"

A Simple Frame

For any specials comment, try: one skill they are demonstrating well + one area of growth + one habit or process observation. That structure applies to both art and music and keeps the comment grounded in real classroom work rather than personality.