ACT Report Comments Checklist: What Every Report Needs

What an ACT student report must include

ACT public schools use a mandated student report template. Besides academic achievement, the report covers personal and social capabilities, attendance and work habits. Teachers write comments that make each section useful to families.

• Academic achievement: an A–E grade in Years 1–10, based on the achievement standards.
• Kindergarten: a descriptive scale rather than A–E letters.
• Personal and social capabilities: how the student works with others and manages themselves.
• Attendance and work habits: reported alongside the academic results.
• Senior secondary courses sit under the Board of Senior Secondary Studies, not this template.

Comment checklist before you submit

• Does the first sentence match the grade? Use the performance wording the grade implies.
• Does each learning area name a strength, an example and a next step?
• Is the personal and social capabilities comment based on observed behaviour, not a label?
• Are work habits described as specific behaviours (for example, "starts tasks promptly")?
• Is the language free of jargon a family would not know?
• Have you checked spelling, student name and pronouns?

Example: personal and social capabilities

Examples

• "[Student] works cooperatively in groups, takes turns and listens to different points of view. They are learning to manage frustration by asking for help early. Practising a calm-down strategy will support this."
• "[Student] shows initiative by organising materials without being asked and encourages classmates. Taking on a leadership role in a group project is a next step."

Example: work habits

Examples

• "[Student] starts tasks promptly, stays focused for extended periods and checks their work before handing it in."
• "[Student] is learning to manage time on longer tasks. Using a simple checklist to break work into steps will help them finish on time."

Students with additional learning needs

• Report against the goals in the student’s Individual Learning Plan where one is in place.
• Name the adjustments or supports in plain language.
• Keep the comment honest and strengths-based, with a clear next step.