Ontario Report Card Comments That Meet Growing Success (2026-27 Guide)
Levels, letter grades and percentages, the 2020 and 2023 changes to Mathematics and Language reporting, the mandatory IEP statements, and a reliable structure for strengths and next steps.
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By the Ontario Report Comments team – built for Ontario teachers
Ontario’s report card rules fit in one paragraph of Growing Success: focus on what students have learned, describe significant strengths, identify next steps for improvement, and write in language parents understand. Everything else — the levels, the letter grades, the IEP statements — is detail around that paragraph. This guide covers the detail that trips people up, including the changes since 2020.
The achievement chart, in one table
Every Ontario curriculum document shares the same four levels. Level 3 is the provincial standard — the ministry says parents of students at Level 3 "can be confident that their children will be prepared for work in subsequent grades/courses."
| Level | Descriptor | Grades 1–6 | Grades 7–12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | a high degree of effectiveness — surpasses the standard | A− to A+ | 80–100% |
| 3 | considerable effectiveness — meets the standard | B− to B+ | 70–79% |
| 2 | some effectiveness — approaches the standard | C− to C+ | 60–69% |
| 1 | limited effectiveness — much below the standard | D− to D+ | 50–59% |
| — | not demonstrated; extensive remediation required | R | R (7–8) / below 50% (9–12) |
Don't repeat the chart in the comment
Growing Success asks teachers to avoid language that "simply repeats the wordings of the curriculum expectations or the achievement chart." "Demonstrates considerable effectiveness in applying…" is chart language. "Uses fractions accurately to solve problems about recipes" is what a parent can picture.
What changed recently
- Mathematics (since 2020): one overall grade or mark in Grades 1–8, with comments that can reference the strands — Number, Algebra, Data, Spatial Sense and Financial Literacy.
- Language (since 2023): one overall grade or mark instead of four strand grades. Comments should describe strengths, growth and next steps, and include the foundations of language, including reading and writing.
- Early Reading Screening: results are recorded in their own field on the February report for Year 2 Kindergarten and Grades 1–2. It is not something the comment needs to restate.
- Kindergarten (2026–27): The Ontario Curriculum, Kindergarten, 2026 replaces the 2016 program, and the four frames become four strands.
- Secondary (2026–27): final marks now combine classroom work (65%), a mandatory final evaluation, and attendance and participation. Report card comments do not need to explain the weighting.
A reliable structure
- Strength with evidence — what the student can do, shown in a task
- A second strength or area of growth
- A specific next step — observable and achievable next term
- A home connection — how parents or guardians can help
Grade 4 Language, Level 2:
Sofia reads grade-level texts with growing accuracy and can answer questions about the main events. With support, she makes simple inferences about characters’ feelings. In writing, she shares her ideas in a logical order. Next steps are to reread texts to find evidence for her answers and to use a checklist to revise her writing for punctuation. Reading together at home and asking "How do you know?" will support her comprehension.
When a student receives an R or a mark below 50%
The policy is specific here. Teachers should describe the remedial measures or strategies in place to address the student’s learning needs, and the kind of parental support that will be required — and contact parents as soon as possible, rather than letting the report card be the first they hear of it.
The IEP statements
If a student’s IEP provides accommodations only, the IEP box is not checked and the comment says nothing about the IEP. If expectations are modified, the elementary provincial report card must include this statement in the Strengths/Next Steps section:
"This (letter grade/percentage mark) is based on achievement of expectations in the IEP that vary from the Grade X expectations (and/or) are an (increase/decrease) in the (number and/or complexity) of curriculum expectations."
Choose the options that apply and delete the rest. There are separate statements for alternative expectations, and for secondary courses where the principal has decided a credit will not be granted — see the sources below.
Never in a report card comment
- A diagnosis or exceptionality
- Comparisons with classmates, siblings or the median
- Family circumstances, immigration status or income
- Behaviour in a subject comment — it belongs in Learning Skills
- Absolutes like "always" and "never"
A note on AI and privacy
School boards set their own rules for AI tools, and privacy law (MFIPPA, plus the province’s new powers under Bill 194) applies to student information. Ontario Report Comments is built so that you never enter a real name: you use a code or nickname, the comment comes back with a placeholder, and your professional judgement decides every word that goes on the report card. Check your board’s guidance before you use any AI tool.
Sources
- Growing Success (2010) — chapters 3, 5 and 6
- Growing Success: updates since 2010
- Reporting Student Achievement
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