Maintaining a systematic and accurate classroom record is important. Classroom record includes a record of academic performance, students’ attendance, and their behaviours. It is the duty of the teacher to maintain student records. The academic record consists of report cards and grades that provide information about student’s performance and progress. It helps families and teachers in decision-making regarding students’ learning needs too.
Classroom records also include attendance records that help staff members and teachers in maintaining accountability for the safety of students. School attendance software can use to track the attendance of students. With this software, late arrivals and early leaves can also be tracked. Additionally, behavioral records are maintained especially for disciplinary meetings and parent-teacher meetings. Here are some other details of these three types of records:
Academic Record Keeping
Academic records are important to maintain because they show students’ progress and weaknesses. Teachers need to document areas in which students are performing better and areas that need support or additional help. Teachers can also use software where they can digitally enter the students’ scores at regular intervals. Moreover, paper-based records can also be kept as a backup.
Academic records include data from tests and quizzes, project rubrics, writing samples, and students’ reflections. Moreover, student portfolios are also a good addition to academic records for parent-teacher meetings.
Attendance Record Keeping
Teachers also need to maintain the attendance record of students. It shows students’ attendance and absence habits. It also gives an insight into students’ performance. Sometimes, maintaining an attendance record is a big headache for school teachers when the number of students in a classroom is large. It is difficult to keep track.
Schools can use attendance software to keep a track of students’ attendance and reports can be easily generated and can be sent to parents. Usually, an attendance report is sent to parents along with the quarterly academic report.
Behavior Record Keeping
Along with academic performance and attendance, teachers also need to keep a record of students’ behavior in the classroom. It is another significant point that puts light on students’ performance. Teachers need these reports to discuss in parent-teacher meetings.
Here are some tips for teachers for maintaining smooth classroom records:
Stay Organized for Smooth Record Management
To maintain classroom records smoothly, it is important to stay organized. The records that you are going to maintain include grades, attendance, behavior, notes sent home, and time for sending to the office. Teachers have to maintain a record of all these things along with teaching which is a difficult job.
To simplify this process of record maintaining, teachers can use a document management system. It will help teachers to track and manage files easily. Moreover, it is easier to search the data of students with a document management system instead of piles of files or hard copies.
Keep Track of Lessons
Keeping track of what you are going to teach helps you to stay organized and improve your classroom planning. You can create a lesson plan calendar after listing down the plan on paper or computer. It will provide you a map and you will be able to complete the lessons on time. Your time investment for the first time will save your time next year when you will be teaching the next batch. You can use the same calendar after amendments.
Document Policies of Class
Because you have to maintain a record of students’ behavior too, so it is important to document class standards beforehand. You can write a class disclosure statement that will include attendance, general class rules, makeup work, grading scale, and extra credit. You can also collaborate with other teachers to create a document consisting of class policies. It will help to tackle students and to coordinate assignments.