Plan three observations in the first week
When a new student arrives in the weeks before report cards, the instinct is to wait and see. Do the opposite. In the first week, choose the subjects where you will need to report and plan one short observation for each: a reading conference, a math task you watch the student start, a few minutes beside their group in science.
Save each one with the date, the task and what the student did. Three dated notes do not make a full picture, but they give you something real to build from, and they show you quickly which subjects will be hardest to report on.
What the policy allows
In Ontario, the first provincial report card goes home between January 20 and February 20 and reflects the curriculum expectations taught from September to January or February. A student who arrived in December has seen only part of that.
Growing Success gives teachers of Grades 1 to 10 the code "I" for insufficient evidence to determine a letter grade or percentage mark. It names a student who has enrolled very recently as one example, and leaves the decision to the teacher's professional judgement about what is appropriate and in the student's best interests. The ministry's report card page tells families the same thing: an "I" can mean the student recently moved schools.
An "I" is not a failing mark, and it is not "R". It says there is not enough evidence yet. Where you do have enough, a grade with a short, honest comment is usually more useful to the family.
Find out what came with the student
Before you build everything from scratch, ask what evidence already exists.
- Previous report cards. The provincial report card notes that a copy is placed in the student's Ontario Student Record. If the student came from another Ontario school, ask your office whether the record has arrived.
- The family. A short conversation about what the student enjoyed at their last school, and where they found things hard, often tells you which observations to plan first.
- Support staff. If the student is working with a resource teacher, an English language learner teacher or an educational assistant, ask what they have seen and save it with the source noted.
- The student. Ask them to show you a piece of work they are proud of, or to tell you what they were learning in math before they moved.
None of this replaces your own evidence. It helps you decide where to look.
Choose observations that show the most
With only a few weeks, pick tasks that reveal a lot at once. Growing Success notes that some evidence carries more weight than other evidence, because richer performance tasks show more of what a student knows and can do.
- Language: a short reading conference where the student reads aloud, retells, and answers one question about the text.
- Mathematics: one problem the student solves while explaining their thinking to you, with a second strategy if they have one.
- Science or social studies: a few minutes of conversation during an investigation or inquiry task about what they notice and why.
- Learning skills: how the student starts work, asks for help, and joins a group in an unfamiliar room.
Learning skills evidence builds faster than subject evidence for a new student, because you see it in every lesson. It is often where the strongest part of the comment comes from.
Write the comment from what you have seen
Keep the comment proportionate. Name the time frame, describe what you observed, and set a next step for the coming term.
A fictional Grade 2 language comment where you have enough evidence:
"Since joining our class in December, [Name] has read short familiar texts aloud with expression and retold the beginning, middle and end in order during reading conferences. Next, [Name] will use the pictures and the first letter of a word to try unfamiliar words before asking for help. At home, read a short book together and ask [Name] to retell it to you."
A fictional Grade 6 comment where you might use "I":
"[Name] joined our class in January, and there has not yet been enough time to gather evidence of their achievement of the overall expectations in social studies for this reporting period. In class discussions, [Name] has shared thoughtful questions about the community unit. Next, [Name] will complete the current inquiry project, which will be assessed in the next reporting period."
Notice that the second comment still names something real. A family receiving an "I" should learn what the teacher has seen so far and what happens next.
Learning skills comments for a new student
Rating learning skills after a few weeks is uncomfortable, but you often have more evidence than you think. Focus the comment on the transition: how the student has settled into routines, who they work with, and how they ask for help. Avoid predictions about the rest of the year.
"[Name] has learned our morning routine quickly and now organizes their materials independently before the bell" is a specific strength after three weeks. "[Name] is adjusting well" is not.
Where a note system fits
The risk with a new student is that their few notes get lost among everyone else's. In Dodl Notes, you can add the student to your class the day they arrive, and each quick note you save stays on their student history from the first day. The dashboard shows which students have few recent notes, so a new arrival stays visible while you plan observations. When it is time to write, open their history and read the dated evidence in order.
Before you finalize
- Do you have at least one dated observation in each subject you are grading?
- Does the comment name the time frame the student has been with you?
- If you are using "I", did you check with your principal and explain the next step to the family?
- Have you saved what you learned from the family and previous records with the source noted?