1. Lead with specific evidence
The weakest comments are true of every child in the room. "Works hard" and "is a pleasure to have in class" tell a family nothing, because they could be pasted onto any report card in the school. A comment earns its space when it names something you actually saw: a behaviour, a piece of work, a moment in a discussion.
Ontario's reporting policy says the same thing. Growing Success (2010, chapter 6, last reviewed 26 September 2026) asks teachers to describe what the student has learned, name significant strengths and next steps, and use language parents understand instead of repeating curriculum wording.
Says little
Ava is a good reader.
Says something
Ava reads grade level novels with good understanding and backs up her predictions with clues from the text.
The second version names two things a family can ask about at dinner: the kind of book, and what backing up a prediction looks like.
You do not need a paragraph of anecdote. One precise verb and one precise object carry most of the weight: "returns forms the next day", "explains which operation a problem needs", "invites a quieter classmate into the group". If you can picture the child doing it, a parent can too.
Comment Desk drafts the structure and the level language for you. The best use of the time it saves is to add or swap in one detail only you know: the novel they finished, the project they led, the week things clicked.
2. Give one next step a child can act on
A next step is a promise about what happens after the report card goes home, so it should be small enough to start tomorrow and concrete enough that you would notice it happening. "Needs to improve organization" is a diagnosis, not a step.
Says little
Liam needs to be more organized.
Says something
A next step for Liam is to write each assignment in his planner and check it with the teacher before home time.
The strong version names the tool, the moment, and who checks, so Liam, his family and his teacher all know what to look for.
One good next step beats three vague ones. If a student needs several, write the one that will unlock the others first. For a student who is already strong, the next step is a stretch rather than a fix: an extension, a leadership role, a harder text, a more open problem. A strong student with no next step reads as a student nobody is still teaching.
Where it helps, add how a family can support the step at home, especially in the primary grades: reading together for fifteen minutes, counting things on a walk, a folder checked each night. Keep it to one small habit a busy family can manage.
3. Keep the tone honest and kind
Honest and kind are not opposites. Describe what the child does, not who the child is. "Often talks while others are speaking" is a behaviour that can change; "chatty" is a label that sticks. "Finds it hard to start writing without adult prompts" is fair and specific; "lazy" is neither.
- Describe behaviour and work, never character or family circumstances.
- Use growth words that are true: "is beginning to", "with support", "is learning to". Do not use them to hide a real concern; say the concern plainly and pair it with the step.
- Avoid comparisons with classmates and avoid absolutes such as "never" and "always" unless they are literally true.
- Leave out jargon and acronyms a family would need to look up.
- Nothing in a comment should surprise a family who has been kept informed. A serious concern belongs in a conversation first.
4. Make the words agree with the level
Families read the letter or the number first and the comment second. If the mark says Satisfactory and the comment reads like Excellent, the family believes the comment and is surprised later. Each level in the packs has its own sentences for that reason: an S sentence says "most of the time" or "with reminders", an N sentence says what is not yet happening and what support helps, and an E sentence says what makes the work stand out.
When you edit a draft, keep that agreement. If a student has grown past the level you picked, change the level, not just the words.
5. Fit the limit without losing the point
Report software counts characters, including spaces, and cuts off anything past the limit. Set the limit on the write page to match yours and every box shows a live count. When a draft runs long, Comment Desk leaves out whole sentences, extra next steps first, and tells you which ones it dropped. It never cuts a sentence in half.
To shorten your own edits:
- Cut the opener that says nothing, such as "This term, Ava has continued to".
- Keep one example per skill, not two.
- Merge two short sentences about the same skill into one.
- Drop adverbs that do not change the meaning: very, really, quite.
Watch for repeats across the class too. Families compare report cards, and two children with the same sentence notice. The write page lists any run of eight or more words that appears in two comments.
6. Kindergarten is different
A Kindergarten Communication of Learning describes learning rather than grading it. Since the 2026 Kindergarten curriculum it is organised by the four strands: Foundations of Language and Mathematics, Problem Solving and Innovating, Self-Regulation and Well-Being, and Belonging and Contributing. Inside each strand you say what the child has learned, how the child has grown, and what comes next. Write about the child in play and investigation, keep each strand's comment about that strand rather than a list of everything, and keep next steps practical for home. The Kindergarten pack drafts one box per strand, each with a key learning, a growth and a next step sentence, in a confident, growing or beginning tone, so a thriving child and a child still settling in each get a comment that fits. If your board template still has three boxes by section, choose the previous format on the write page.
7. A checklist before you paste
- Does the comment name something specific you saw?
- Is there one next step the child could start tomorrow?
- Do the words agree with the level or mark?
- Are the name and pronouns the ones this family uses?
- Is it free of labels, comparisons and jargon?
- Is it under the character limit, with no sentence cut off?
- Is it different from every other comment in the class?
Comment Desk handles the last three for you and gets you a sound draft for the first four. The detail that makes a comment ring true is still yours to add.
Worked example: a draft made specific
Here is a learning skills draft for a made up student, Maya, at Responsibility G, Organization S, Collaboration E and Initiative G, as the write page produces it:
Maya is dependable about returning homework and forms, and keeps most assignments up to date. Maya is developing organizational habits and sometimes needs help to find materials or keep track of work. She builds respectful relationships with a wide range of classmates and is often chosen as a partner. She volunteers for classroom jobs and activities and approaches most tasks positively. Maya is ready to bring the same care to every task that she already shows in her best work. One goal for Maya is to use a simple step by step checklist for larger tasks, with the teacher checking in at each step.
It is accurate, agrees with each letter and has a next step. To make it say something, replace one general sentence with what you saw: "Maya organised the class book swap and kept its sign out sheet up to date all term." Now the E in Collaboration and the G in Responsibility have evidence a family can ask about.
Common mistakes
- Praise that fits any child: works hard, pleasure to have in class.
- A next step that is a diagnosis ("needs to focus") rather than an action.
- Words that promise more than the mark, or less.
- Copying curriculum or policy wording that a family cannot picture.
- A sentence cut off by the software because the limit was not checked.
- The same sentence on several report cards in one class.
More guides and examples
- Ontario learning skills comments, examples by level E G S N
- Ontario Kindergarten report card comments for 2026, by strand
- Communication of Learning explained for new Kindergarten teachers
- Report card comment generator vs comment bank vs AI
Last reviewed 26 September 2026. Comment Desk is not affiliated with any school board or ministry.