In each of these cases, we see common challenges: Bewildering codes, acronyms and language. Disjointed and contradictory data. An absence of explanation or synthesis. Inflated grades and papered-over problems.

Collectively, these issues reflect a profound and alarming inattention to the needs of families, who want clear, coherent information about student performance in order to engage fully in their children’s education and keep them on track for success. Instead, the process leaves families muddled — uncertain what to believe, how to help, which path to take.

These challenges are frustrating because many of them seem so basic and solvable. Schools and districts should know that parents care deeply about report cards as the official record of their children’s performance, and be far more deliberate about their design and content. Testing companies invest enormous resources in their products and the reports they generate for school systems — they should invest in parent-friendly score reports as well. And educators whose professional responsibility is ensuring the students in their classrooms learn the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in school and beyond ought to be eager to ensure parents are fully informed partners in the educational process.

These challenges are frustrating because many of them seem so basic and solvable.

What would it take to clear up the muddle? Most fundamentally, we believe it would mean communicating student progress in terms of a story, not fragments of data. The messages families and students receive should be:

• Clear. What information are we trying to convey about how this child is developing? What is the headline, in plain language? Avoid complicated grading scales and acronyms. Summarize the available information, and resist the urge to communicate more data points when fewer will do the job. Too often, the burden of analyzing and synthesizing student performance information falls on parents rather than educators.
• Coherent. How does this information add to what has been shared in the past? How consistent are the patterns for this student across different settings, subject areas, and types of activities? Give context for what each piece of information means and where it came from.
• Human. Parents put the most faith in professionals who know their children well. When messages are delivered through credible, front-line educators such as a teacher or principal, they are most likely to be heard — even if the messages are difficult. Data-heavy reports sent home from afar can easily become junk mail.
• Actionable. Parents put more pressure on themselves than any other party. They desperately want to help their children. But how? Vague prescriptions to “read with her at night” or “look into tutoring” are the academic equivalent of a doctor advising you to “try to have lower blood pressure.”
• Timely. Communicate less frequently, with greater care. Many schools issue four progress reports and four final report cards each year. What if there were just 2–3 points of formal communication, but each one came with better commentary and clarity?
• Honest. It is always hard to communicate disappointing news, but educators do a grave disservice to students and parents when they gloss over problems or fail to report worrisome information. Doing so should be as unthinkable a violation as a doctor ignoring or playing down an alarming blood test result.

Imagine if we applied these principles to the students profiled here. What if Michael’s report card had the following comment at the bottom, addressed to Raquel?

“I truly enjoy having Michael in my class but I am concerned about him. He is struggling in both reading and math. Many of his skills are more similar to those of a first grader than a third grader — and because he has missed 14 days just halfway through the school year, we have not had the time together to help him catch up. When Michael is focused, I have seen him love school and make real progress. Just last week he read beautifully in front of the entire class. Can we schedule some time to talk about how we can help Michael make a big leap forward in the second half of the year? My hope is to reduce his absences to no more than five and to boost his reading performance much closer to grade level through intensive support by me at school and you at home.”

What if Tameka’s teacher wrote this to her parents?

“Tameka has performed well in school during her seventh grade year, finishing with A’s and B’s in all subject areas. Her great work ethic and positive attitude are so important. I see those traits every day. But I want to make sure you’re aware that her scores on the MAP test we do 2–3 times per year have been declining. In third and fourth grade, Tameka’s MAP test scores placed her right at average for math and well above average in reading. More recently, though, she has fallen below average in math and down to average in reading. Her LEAP scores tell a similar story — though she is scoring Mastery in ELA, she is at Basic in her other subjects. We all want her back at the front of the pack, and I know no one is more determined to get there than Tameka. The coming year is an opportunity to prepare Tameka for a strong transition to high school, and then the road to/through college.”

What if, instead of the negative email she wrote to Gregory’s Navigator, his teacher wrote this to his parents?

“Good morning, I share your concern about Gregory’s progress this year. He did not advance in reading as much as I expected. I was surprised by his low score on iReady because I see better work from him in class. It makes me wonder whether we had too many distractions for him in his testing environment. The next time he takes iReady, I will see to that. The bigger issue is that Gregory’s reading challenges are making it more difficult for him to understand the content in all his subject areas. He is still reading 1–2 grade levels behind where we want him to be. I recommend that we schedule a meeting of his special education team to review his IEP so we can ensure he is getting the best supports we can provide at school. I also have some recommendations for activities you can do with him at home. I continue to be optimistic that, by the time he leaves for high school in two years, we can have him all the way caught up.”

Imagine how differently the parents of these students might have responded, had they received information about their children in this way? How many other students who have fallen off track in our schools might have found a different path, if their families had, too?

Overcoming the Obstacles

Standing between families and clearer, actionable information about student performance are plenty of obstacles and challenges. Here are some of the most obvious areas for attention and investment.

1. Report cards: Every school and district should honestly and urgently examine their current report cards and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure they are accessible and parent-friendly. In this rapidly advancing era of user experience testing and information design, there is no excuse for cluttered, confusing report cards. They are arguably the single-most important documents any school generates for families. It’s worth the time, effort and expense to get them right. Local and state education agencies can play an important role here by setting standards, offering resources, and creating templates and process recommendations that schools can easily put to use.
2. Teacher training: Parents trust teachers more than any other source of information about students. They rely heavily on teachers to understand how their children are doing. Yet teachers rarely receive strong development in how to synthesize different sources of student data or effectively communicate with families about student progress. During medical school and their residencies, doctors learn how to interpret diagnostic reports, practice bedside manner, and deliver bad news honestly but humanely. Schools of education and teacher professional development providers should focus on similar skills for educators.
3. In-school supports and resources for students: What happens when a teacher is working with an entire class of students who are almost all behind? It would be understandable if they were hesitant to voice significant concerns about each student’s progress to every single family — especially if they felt stretched already, or did not feel they had solutions to offer to the problems being raised. But providing misleading information to families should never be an option, no matter how well-intentioned an educator may be. In addition to providing better training, so teachers are prepared to have those difficult conversations in a productive way, we also need to admit that not all schools have viable options for responding to different challenges students face (such as rich special education supports, tutoring, accelerated coursework, and summer learning programs) and continue urgently working to address these gaps and disparities.
4. Test score reporting: Testing companies should prioritize getting clearer and better student reports into the hands of teachers and parents, faster. Some testing companies still do not generate score reports geared towards parents, and even the student-level reports they produce for teachers and schools can be difficult to interpret. Others come months after the test administration, making it difficult for anyone to put the results to meaningful use. This is all rightfully frustrating to parents and students. The more we can do to integrate test score data communication with other valuable information and context, the more it will be appreciated and understood by families.
5. Parent education and support: Like teachers, parents are almost never taught how to interpret different sources of information about their children’s progress in school. In the best case scenario, they might receive a handout with their child’s report card, explaining what the various ratings mean or why the school uses a particular grading system. What if, instead, schools held an orientation for parents every year to familiarize them with the various types of data they would receive throughout the year, clarify what they should focus on most, and help them understand how to review and ask questions about the information?

Click on an image below to read more in Muddled: How Confusing Information from Schools Is Failing American Families.