End of the Year Evaluations

I write a detailed evaluation for each of my children at the end of every school year. This is a requirement in my state of Georgia, but I don’t mind it. It is very helpful to look back over the year, taking stock of successes as well as areas to work on in the future. 

It has been a particularly helpful exercise as regards my dyslexic child.  It’s always an encouragement to me to see how far he has come in the past year, as well as a good opportunity to set new goals for the coming year.

I know that it is theoretically possible that I could be asked to turn these evaluations in to someone. Nevertheless, I write them as honestly as I can, including all areas of weakness. This is a tool for me to use as I plan school for next year. As I look back on evaluations from years past, it can be very encouraging to see how my children have overcome these areas of weakness.

Here is what I include in my evaluations:

First, an introductory paragraph that talks about the general schedule of the child’s day, followed by a point by point timeline of their day. For example:

7:30-8:30 with mom (Monday: math, Tuesday: spelling, Wednesday: Worldview discussion, Thursday: History discussion)
8:45-9:15 Family devotions
9:15-10:30 History reading

…and so forth.

Then, I type up one paragraph about every subject area. I write down exactly which curriculum we used, noting whether it was a continuation from the previous year or our first year trying something new. I try to put the scope and sequence (several of the topics covered), and detail areas of particular strength, things that the student really enjoyed (or hated) about the program, and areas where there was weakness to address in the future. I include every subject in this evaluation, including “extras” like piano and art.

Next, I write a summary of the child’s extracurricular activities. This includes any community or church sports programs, as well as extra-curricular events we have taken part in as a family. For my middle boys, this would include things like the Youth Birding Competition and the Science Fair. For my oldest, I included our year-long participation in the Vision Forum Jamestown 400 Treasure Hunt 2 years ago. I write out specific details about the events, what types of things they learned, etc.

Important field trips or vacations can be included in this section, too. I keep a separate folder for each school year with brochures for past field trips. If we plan to visit a place again, several years later, I know just where to find the contact information for that trip.

Another paragraph can be dedicated to milestones, such as learning to tie shoes or to ride a bicycle.

Next, I include a Partial Reading List for the year. The reason I say “partial” is because it is nearly impossible to note down every single book the children read during the course of a year. I try my best. I usually go week by week through my curriculum and planning pages, typing out each title that they did, indeed, read. I try to make a note at the beginning of the new year, when I do my planning, of any additional reading I plan to do for each topic. That way, when I go back over it at the end of the year, I can see my own hand-written notes beside my curriculum’s suggestions. I add anything from either list which we read to this Partial Reading List. Clear as mud??

I try to write title and author, for future reference. In 4 years time, I may look back at this list to determine what I want my other children to read. Sometimes I make an asterisk by books which were particularly beloved, so we will be sure to include them for the next child. I also make a note of books we particularly disliked so that they can be avoided.

Once I have compiled the list, I look through all the books on our “current school year” shelves to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. When that is done, I put all those books away, together, so that the next time we go through this material, it will be easy to find these books again. I have several shelves, and many of my school books remain out where the children can revisit them from time to time. I am going through the process, slowly, of color coding all my books with a coding dot on the spine, according to which year in the classical cycle they get used. Right now I am working on the books for Ancients, which get a red dot on the spine. But I digress….

I have not included chore lists in the past, but I intend to do that with this year’s evaluations. I’d like to keep a record of what my children’s responsibilities were each year. I also intend to put in a paragraph about major projects they were involved in. For example, all my boys are helping to plant our bird garden, which is a huge project. I want to have a detailed record of what we did in their files for this school year. My oldest son was involved in making a feature length movie production two summers ago. That kind of information goes into the report, too.

At the end of the evaluation, I include a summary of weaknesses and strengths, as well as goals for the summer and the upcoming school year.