Digital school

The development report interview: Support instead of judgement

In some federal states, the development report interview in primary schools offers an alternative to the traditional interim report and provides a space for dialogue between teachers and their pupils. You can find out more about the definition, successful procedure and preparation of the development report interview in the following blog post:

1. What is a development report interview?

In a development report interview, the teacher, pupil and parents discuss the child’s strengths, weaknesses and learning goals. The documented development report interview in primary school thus replaces or supplements (depending on the federal state) the half-year report in school years 1-3. It is crucial that the teacher conducts the development report interview with the child on an equal footing. Although the parents are present during the discussion, they remain in the background and only listen for the time being. The aim is not to talk about the child, but with them. Depending on the child’s ability to concentrate, a development report interview should last between 30 and a maximum of 45 minutes. As development report interviews replace an interim report with grades, they are not a crisis meeting but focus on the pupil’s individual learning development. The aim is to take stock of the learning status and plan further learning goals. The children should formulate their own learning development goals and plan their development steps in order to take their learning into their own hands.

2. When do development report interviews take place?

Development report interviews usually take place once a year at the end of the first half of the school year. Ideally, the meetings should be held shortly before the official date for issuing interim reports. Whether there is a fixed day for all development meetings or whether individual appointments are made between the families and the teacher can vary depending on the primary school.

3. Are development report interviews mandatory?

The regulations for development report interviews vary depending on the federal state. While development report interviews have been mandatory for years in Hamburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Brandenburg rely on a combination of interviews and grades or indicator-based reports, depending on the school year. In Baden-Württemberg und Bavaria the school conferences can decide for themselves whether development report interviews are to be conducted at the school. If parents refuse a discussion, a ‘normal’ grade-based report is issued as an alternative.

4. What is the aim of support and development meetings?

The development report interview centres on the child’s individual skills and performance, which should be assessed by both the pupils themselves and the teacher. During the discussion, the learning status, performance and also support needs should become visible. One aim of the development report interview is to introduce the children to a successful assessment of their own performance so that they can reflect on their learning, their progress and their acquisition of skills and become aware of their personal learning processes. They should be actively involved in the reflection process, e.g. by keeping a learning diary in class, as this helps them to develop a positive attitude towards learning and strengthens their confidence in their abilities. The teacher’s preparation is central to the fulfilment of the objectives of a development meeting. The Additio App’s learning and grade management can help with this: Teachers can see all grades, assessments and learning progress in one place. All assessments can be documented quantitatively and qualitatively in the grade management. Development reports can be used to create individual reports on assessments, incidents or skills and to set development goals. The academic progress of pupils can also be easily visualised.

5. What does a development interview include?

As the development report interview is carried out as an alternative to the classic interim report with grades, all subjects of the last half-year, as well as the child’s development and social behaviour, should be discussed in the interview. As the time frame is limited, it is of course not possible to address all competences, but each subject should be included and a meaningful focus should be set in each case. There should also be room for questions and uncertainties on the part of the child and parents. At the end of the interview, a target agreement is drawn up. This is developed together with the child and, ideally, formulated independently by the child.

The teacher is primarily responsible for preparing the development report interview, as they lead the discussion with the pupils and their parents. In preparation for the discussion, both the teacher and each child (with the support of parents or in class) fill out a self-assessment or observation sheet, which asks about the children’s competences in the individual subjects as well as their social and working behaviour. These questionnaires form the basis for the content of the development report interview. The State Institute for School Quality and Educational Research Munich (ISB) provides templates for documentation forms for the development report interview. It is also particularly important to define a child-appropriate assessment scheme for the self-assessment and to develop a concept for discussing and comparing the prepared sheets. Inform parents and children about the upcoming development report interview at an early stage and prepare them for what the interview will be about. This will allow everyone involved to prepare well for the meeting and take part without any fear or uncertainty. Digital solutions such as Sdui’s suite for communication and organisation can help you to pass on information and make appointments, e.g. through digital parent letters via news or simple exchanges in private chat. You can find more information about helpful functions here.

7. How does a development report interview work?

The basic procedure of a development report interview should be similar in all federal states and schools, but the implementation and the materials used during the interview can be customised and creatively designed.

Starting the conversation Create a pleasant atmosphere for dialogue in which the children and their parents feel comfortable. Make sure that the child perceives themselves as an equal counterpart, e.g. by sitting together at a round table. If you have already explained in advance what the development report interview will be about, it is often easier for your pupils.
The comparison of the competence assessment Make sure you start the content of the discussion with a focus on strengths and always begin the discussion on the prepared development sheets with the child’s strengths. To do this, think together with the child about what they are particularly good at or have them present a particularly successful piece of work from the last school term. Record these strengths together and create a positive mood for the discussion of the other skills. Then compare the individual areas of the sheet one by one and compare your assessments with those of the children. Pick up on individual important competences or divergent assessments and address these in the discussion. To avoid simply working through the skills on the observation sheet in a dry manner, you can use visualisations such as awarding stars or placing a figure on a scale. You can find more creative ideas to liven up and illustrate the development report interview, including material, for example at materialwiese.de .

Set target agreements Once all areas of the observation sheet have been discussed, objectives are agreed and noted down together. The motivation should come from the pupil. The goals should be formulated clearly and comprehensibly, be realistically realisable for the children and also be verifiable in the course of time. Think together about practical exercises for implementation (e.g. practising reading for 5 minutes every day) The agreed targets are written down together and in many schools signed by the child, the teacher and the parents. A small card with the agreed goals in the pencil case can motivate children to achieve them during the school year.
The end of the conversation The development report interview should always be concluded with an optimistic outlook. Both the children and the parents receive a record of the meeting. It can be useful to obtain feedback from the parents about the course of the discussion, also in order to further optimise the process. In the classroom, emphasis should be placed on further promoting the pupils’ self-reflection by keeping an eye on the jointly agreed goals.

8. Conclusion

Documented development report interviews are a central part of everyday primary school life in some federal states and replace or supplement the familiar, grade-based interim report. The aim of the development report interview is for teachers and pupils to discuss strengths, weaknesses and development potential as equals. The aim is to gain an overview of the performance status and formulate learning development goals. It is particularly important that the teacher prepares and conducts the development report interview well and that the outcome of the interview is positive and motivating for the pupils.