How to Write a Progress Report for Preschool

Progress reports can help keep a preschooler's development on track.

Preschoolers have the tendency to progress at different levels and speeds, but benchmarks can help keep their social, emotional and academic development on track. To better track this development, instructors and educators are sometimes called upon to develop progress reports that can be stored in personal files or delivered to the student's parents.

Instructions

1. Write the title of your document at the top center of the report. This should include the name of the school or institution, followed by the words "Progress Report." Include the date of the report.

2. Include the name, age and teacher of the preschool student under the title. You could type this information if you are reviewing only one child, or leave spaces to be filled out later if you are reviewing multiple preschoolers.

3. Create a checklist that outlines different levels of development for the student's age group. These could include categories such as mathematics, reading, social skills, motor skills and critical thinking. They can be formatted as a table with different levels of proficiency, such as "proficient," "good," "working on" or "not applicable."

4. List skills that might be expected of the grade level and indicate the preschooler's progress in each field. In each table or checklist, create separate rows for each skill that might be expected of the preschooler. For example, in the table for social skills, you could list traits such as "plays well with others," "demonstrates confidence" or "shares with other students."

5. Use a key that makes the progress report simple to review. Your progress report may be cluttered information, but you want the meaning of the report to be easily understood. Consider making a key that explains what each level of proficiency means. For example, "proficient" might mean the child always demonstrates this quality, whereas "good" might mean the student demonstrates a skill three times out of five.

6. Include a section for special skills, notes or comments that may be relevant to the individual student. Include any extra information that could not be expressed within the confines of a checklist or table. This will be much appreciated by the parent and put the status of the progress report into context.

7. Indicate somewhere on the report how the document should be analyzed and understood. You may want to include a paragraph or two explaining why a progress report is significant and how it should be read. Offer an opportunity for the reader to visit the preschool with any questions or concerns.

References

• Goodwill Homes Head Start: Preschool Progress Report
• Manda Juice: Preschool Progress Report
• Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Ohio: Preschool Progress Report