Reporting
The Education Standards Act 2001 (Clause 87) and National Administration Guideline 2 (NAG 2) require reporting to be presented in two parts:
- analysis of variance report
- annual report to the school community.
There is an overlap between these two reporting requirements. The data that has been collected and analysed for the current annual targets for improving teaching and learning can be used to meet both requirements.
Analysis of variance reports
The data that has been collected and analysed for the annual targets for improving teaching and learning can be used to meet both variance and annual reports.
You are recommended to focus first on writing the analysis of variance report, because it is a critical tool for the planning for improvement in the following year.
The Education Standards Act 2001 (Clause 87) requires all schools to supply an annual analysis of variance report to the Ministry of Education, along with audited annual financial accounts, by 31 May each year. (Note that both the analysis of variance and audited financial statements relate to the previous year.)
The analysis of variance reports on achievement against the annual targets for improving teaching and learning.
The format for the analysis of variance report should cover:
- annual targets for improvement
- actual achievement in relation to each target
- an analysis of possible reasons for any differences (variance) between the target and actual achievement
- an evaluation of implications of the variances for the next year's annual plan and targets.
Examples of analysis of variance reports
Analysis of variance reports that meet legislative requirements are shown in these examples of school planning.
This example from West Road School shows a section of an annual plan addressing a specific target, and shows how the analysis of variance led to further targets and provided a basis for the subsequent year's planning.
Over a 2-year period, Bright River School, a large primary school, reported on its strategic goals to resource and improve the achievement of groups of students identified with reference to NAG 1.
The example from North High School focuses on a broadly stated charter goal for a secondary school, and shows how achievement data and the analysis of variance informed future planning.
Questions for reviewing your analysis of variance report
These questions will help you review your analysis of variance report:
- Were specific achievement targets clearly stated?
- Were assessment activities carried out against the achievement targets, using reliable and appropriate assessment tools?
- Does the analysis make explicit the differences in outcomes achieved compared with the targets?
- Are the reasons for variance identified and explained?
- Does the evaluation discuss the variances and link to these future targets and actions?
Differences between variance and annual reports
While you will present the analysis of variance report to the board of trustees and discuss it with them, it is not necessarily appropriate as a report to the community because it is a technical, managerial, and governance document intended for professionals, the board, and the Ministry of Education.
In addition, it will contain terminology and references that may have little relevance or meaning to parents/caregivers. For this reason, a separate annual report is required.
Annual reports: Reporting to the school's community
National Administration Guideline 2 (NAG 2) requires that each board of trustees, with the principal and teaching staff, reports annually to students and their parents/caregivers on the achievement of individual students (students' individual school reports) and to the school's community (the annual report).
The annual report to the school's community covers the achievement of:
- the school as a whole
- groups of students who are at risk of not achieving or have special needs
- targets for improving the achievement of Māori students
- targets for aspects of the curriculum that require special attention.
Effective annual reports
Parents/caregivers appreciate clear and straight-forward information about student achievement, based on reliable data and written without educational jargon.
They want reports that tell them:
- how their children are achieving in relation to other similar groups of children
- how their school compares with other schools
- about progress in achieving the targets in these plans.
One way to produce an annual plan is to prepare an executive summary as part of the board chair's and principal's reports. This summary will address the features outlined above and can then provide the content for the report to the school's community.
Note that copies of the principal's and board chair's complete reports, as well as the analysis of variance, should also be advertised as available on request from the school.
An alternative to the executive summary model is for the board and principal to provide reports to the community during the year, which can be distributed with regular school newsletters.
The example from Allom Bay District School shows a report that has been written specifically for a school's community.
Allom Bay District School (PDF 168 kB)
