Grade 4 learning skills report card comments - Ontario

12 sample Grade 4 learning skills comments for Ontario's Elementary Progress Report Card, from Excellent to Needs Improvement: 6 strengths and 6 next steps. Adapt any sentence to what you have seen in class, or write them for your whole class in the free Studio.

Write all of these in the free Studio

Sample comments

Shown with the sample name Sam and they/them. The Studio uses your student's first name and pronoun.

Excellent (E)

Strength, Self-Regulation. Sam uses routines that help with focus without being asked. Sam makes timely choices that keep learning moving. Written for Grades 1-8
Next step, Collaboration. A useful next step is for Sam to reflect on how the assigned role helped the group's final work. Written for Grades 1-8
Next step, Initiative. A next step is for Sam to follow a question of their own and share what was learned with the class. Written for Grades 1-8

Good (G)

Strength, Independent Work. Sam shows growing confidence in trying new tasks and can keep going after an early setback. Written for Grades 1-8
Strength, Organization. Sam gets ready for the next activity with few reminders and settles in quickly. Written for Grades 1-8
Next step, Responsibility. Sam's next step is to follow through on commitments without reminders, especially on busy days. Written for Grades 1-8

Satisfactory (S)

Strength, Collaboration. Sam is starting to see that each group member can add to a shared result. Written for Grades 1-8
Next step, Self-Regulation. Sam can use a first-then plan for a learning task with several steps. Written for Grades 1-8
Next step, Independent Work. Sam can strengthen work habits by first trying a named class resource, then asking for help. Written for Grades 1-8

Needs Improvement (N)

Strength, Responsibility. Sam is starting to put things away when an adult guides each step of the routine. Written for Grades 1-8
Strength, Organization. Sam responds well to a picture schedule and is starting to use it to move between tasks. Written for Grades 1-8
Next step, Initiative. A next step is for Sam to approach one new activity each day with a brave first try. Written for Grades 1-8

How Ontario reports

The Elementary Progress Report Card goes home between October 20 and November 20.
Schools will use the Elementary Progress Report Card between October 20 and November 20 of the school year.
Ontario Ministry of Education, Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010), p. 53 · Source
Learning skills are reported with the letters E, G, S and N.
Teachers will use the following letter symbols to report on students' development of the six learning skills and work habits: E - Excellent G - Good S - Satisfactory N - Needs Improvement
Ontario Ministry of Education, Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010), p. 55 · Source
The learning skills comment covers strengths and next steps for improvement.
In the space provided for anecdotal comments, the teacher will elaborate on the student's demonstration of the skills and comment on "strengths" and "next steps for improvement".
Ontario Ministry of Education, Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010), p. 55 · Source

Questions teachers ask

What scale do Ontario learning skills use?

E (Excellent), G (Good), S (Satisfactory) and N (Needs Improvement), for each of the six learning skills and work habits (Growing Success, p. 55). You choose each one; the studio never does.

Are these Grade 4 learning skills comments tied to the curriculum?

No. They are written for Grades 1-8 and are not pinned to a single expectation, so check each sentence against what you actually taught before you use it.

Where do student names go?

Nowhere. Names, ratings and comments are kept in this browser's storage on your computer and are never sent to Milestone Teachers or anyone else. One button clears them.

More report card comments

Other Grade 4 subjects

Learning Skills in other grades

All Ontario report card comments · Ontario Studio

Honest limits

Every sentence is a starting point to adapt from your own evidence. Only you know your student.
Independent resource from Milestone Teachers, not a Ministry of Education publication. Where your board's forms or wording differ, use your board's.

Pair it with

The Studio is free. These printable reporting resources are separate products on this site, each for the place named in its title; open a product page to see its pages, contents and licence.

Ontario Report Season Kit — Grades 1–8: Four resources in one download for Grades 1–8: a 20-page evidence organizer, a 20-page learning-skills tracker, 516 progress-report comment drafts and 480 learning-skills drafts. The parts are also sold separately, so check what you already own.
Ontario Learning Skills Comment Bank: 480 learning-skills comments and 20 general opening and closing comments, as a PDF, an editable Word document and an editable Excel workbook, to adapt to your own evidence.
Ontario Learning Skills & Work Habits Tracker: A print-and-write tracker for recording classroom evidence before you use professional judgement for reporting.
Ontario Anecdotal Notes & Evidence Organizer: Printable forms and class tools for observations, conversations and products, Kindergarten to Grade 8.