A preschool progress report describes how your child is developing across areas such as physical skills, language, social and emotional growth and early thinking, usually through teachers' observations rather than marks or rankings. Read it for three things: what your child can now do, what they are working towards, and how the teacher knows. The most useful reports include specific examples; the most useful conversations start from them.
Families moving to Ho Chi Minh City from different systems may receive reports in an unfamiliar format: a checklist against the Vietnamese preschool curriculum's goals, a portfolio of photos and work, narrative "learning stories" or a combination. This guide explains what each format is for, how to read them without either panicking or skimming, the limits of any preschool assessment and the questions that turn a report into a plan. Details of what a particular curriculum assesses belong with the school; the focus here is on how parents can use what they receive.
Why preschools observe rather than grade
Early childhood education in most countries assesses young children by observing them in ordinary activities, rather than through tests. There are good reasons for this. Children under six develop unevenly and quickly, perform very differently depending on mood, tiredness and familiarity, and often cannot show what they know in a formal setting. A child who will not name colours for a stranger may sort crayons by colour perfectly well at play.
Vietnam's national preschool curriculum follows the same principle. It sets out developmental goals by age and asks teachers to evaluate children through daily observation and at the end of stages of the year, adjusting their teaching accordingly, rather than giving marks. Many international frameworks do something similar: England's Early Years Foundation Stage relies on ongoing observation and includes a progress check at age two, and New Zealand's early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, is known for narrative assessment.
This is why a preschool report rarely tells you how your child compares with others, and why you should be wary of any that does. The purpose of observation is to help adults support a child's next step, not to rank children. A report that reads as a list of strengths and next steps is doing its job.
Common report formats and how to read each
Schools may use one of these or combine several. Each has strengths and blind spots.
| Format | What it looks like | What to look for | Its limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checklist against goals | A list of skills or indicators marked as achieved, emerging or not yet | Which items are emerging, since those show what the child is working on now | Says little about how or in what situations the child shows a skill |
| Portfolio | A collection of photos, drawings, paintings and work samples over the term | Change over time: compare early and late items in the same area | Selection depends on what was captured; quiet strengths may be missing |
| Learning stories | Short narratives describing a moment of learning and what it shows | The teacher's interpretation and suggested next steps | Covers a few episodes in depth, not every area |
| Narrative summary | A paragraph or two on each area of development | Specific examples rather than general phrases | Can become generic when teachers write many at once |
Learning stories as an assessment approach are associated particularly with the New Zealand researcher Margaret Carr, whose work on them was published in the early 2000s. If your school uses them, you may be invited to add your own story from home, which is worth doing: it gives the teacher a fuller picture of your child.
Reading a report in four passes
A report is easy to skim for reassurance or scan for problems. A slower read gives you more.
- First pass, the overall picture. Read it once without stopping. What is your general impression of how the teacher sees your child?
- Second pass, the evidence. Underline every specific example: a moment, a sentence your child said, a piece of work. Notice which areas have examples and which have only general statements.
- Third pass, the next steps. Find what the report says your child is working towards. These items are the most practical part of the report, because they suggest what you could support at home.
- Fourth pass, your view. Compare the report with what you see at home. Note where it matches, where it surprises you and where your child shows a skill at home that the report does not mention.
Bring your notes from the third and fourth passes to the parent meeting. Questions such as "The report says she is working on taking turns; what does that look like in class, and is there anything we can do at home?" lead to far better conversations than a general "How is she doing?".
Phrases that are easy to misread
"Emerging" or "developing". This is not a polite word for failing. It usually means the child shows the skill sometimes, or with support, which is exactly where learning is happening. Most children will have many items at this stage at any given time.
"Not yet observed". This means the teacher has not seen it, not that your child cannot do it. Some skills simply do not come up in class, and some children show them only at home or only in their stronger language.
"Needs encouragement". Often a description of temperament, such as a child who waits to be invited before joining, rather than a concern. Ask whether the teacher sees it as part of your child's personality or as something to work on.
"Age-appropriate". A reassuring summary, but a vague one. Ask what it is based on, and whether there is any area where the teacher would like to see more over the next term.
Silence on an area. If a report says nothing about, for example, language or friendships, ask about it. The teacher may simply have run out of space, or may not have been sure how to put a concern into words.
Bilingual children and the risk of underestimating them
For a child growing up with two or more languages, any report based mainly on observation in one language can underestimate what the child knows. A child who is new to English may follow a story perfectly well but say little; a child whose strongest language is Korean may count to twenty at home and to five at school. Researchers in bilingual development have long warned that assessing bilingual children in only one language gives a misleading picture, and that their combined knowledge across languages is the fairer measure.
This matters most for language and early literacy items, and to some extent for anything assessed through talk, such as explaining a drawing or retelling a story. When you read the report, look for whether the teacher notes which language your child used, and tell the teacher about skills your child shows at home in another language. A short note such as "He names all the animals in French and counts to ten in Japanese" helps the teacher build a fuller picture.
If a report raises a concern about speech or language for a bilingual child, discuss it with your child's doctor, who can advise whether an assessment is needed and whether it can take all of the child's languages into account. A gap in one language alone is often expected in the first year of exposure and does not by itself suggest a delay.
Questions that make a report useful
A report is the start of a conversation, not the end of one. These questions, asked at the parent meeting or by message afterwards, tend to draw out what the written text leaves out.
- "Can you give me an example of when you saw this?" for any statement that feels general, positive or negative.
- "Which of these next steps matters most this term, and how will you support it in class?"
- "Is there one thing we could do at home that would help most?" Ask for one, not a list, so it is realistic.
- "Which language was she using when you observed this?" for any language, story or conversation item.
- "Has anything changed since you wrote this?" Reports can be several weeks old by the time you discuss them.
- "Is there anything you noticed but did not include?" Teachers sometimes leave out small concerns from written reports and will share them in conversation.
- "When will we next review this together?" so that next steps have a date attached.
Asked in a curious rather than critical tone, these questions show the teacher that you have read the report carefully, which most teachers appreciate. They also turn a document about the past into a plan for the next few months.
What any preschool assessment cannot tell you
Even an excellent progress report is a snapshot of a young child's development, taken by one or two adults in one setting. It cannot predict later school success with any precision, and it does not measure qualities that many parents care about most, such as kindness, curiosity or persistence, except through the occasional example. Development in the early years is uneven: a child may surge ahead in language for a term while seeming to stand still physically, then reverse the pattern.
Preschool reports are also not screening tools. Developmental screening, which looks for signs that a child may need further assessment, uses validated instruments such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, and is usually done by or in consultation with health professionals. Public milestone checklists, such as those from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can help parents know what to watch for, but they are guides, not diagnoses.
If something in a report, or in your own observation, worries you, the right step is a conversation with the teacher and, where needed, with your child's doctor. A report should never be the only evidence for an important decision about your child, nor should it be dismissed if it contains a concern you also recognise.
Keeping reports for the future
Families who move between countries often wish they had kept better records of their children's early years. Preschool reports and portfolios are useful when your child starts at a new school, particularly if the new teachers want to know how your child has been supported, which languages they have learned in and what helped them settle. They also make a lovely record of a period of life that passes very quickly.
Save digital reports outside the school's app, since access often ends when a child leaves. For paper portfolios, take photos of key items before they are sent home, in case they are lost in a move. If your child has had any specialist assessment or support, keep those reports with the school records and bring them to new schools, where they can save months of rediscovering what helps.
Keep, too, your own notes from parent meetings. Together with the school's reports, they give a richer picture than either alone, and they help you answer the question new teachers often ask: what is your child like, and what do they need?
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Do preschools in Vietnam give children grades?
No. Preschool education in Vietnam evaluates children against developmental goals through observation rather than marks, and most international early years approaches do the same. If you see a ranking or a score for a preschooler, ask the school what it is based on and how it is used, since it would be unusual.
How often should I expect a progress report?
Practice varies by school. Many preschools provide a written report or portfolio once or twice a year, often linked to parent meetings, with daily reports in between. Ask at enrolment when reports are produced and how they are shared, so you know when to expect them and can plan your questions.
My child's report says not yet for a skill they do at home. Should I worry?
Usually not. Many skills appear first at home, in a familiar language or in a relaxed setting. Tell the teacher what you see, with an example, so the report can reflect it. If the gap persists over several months, discuss it with the teacher and, if needed, your child's doctor.
Can I add my own observations to the report?
Many schools welcome it, particularly those using portfolios or learning stories, which sometimes include a section for families. Even where there is no formal space, a short written note of what your child does at home, especially in other languages, helps the teacher form a more complete picture.
Should I compare my child's report with other children's?
It is better not to. Reports are written about individual children, using examples from their own development, and young children develop at very different rates. Comparing reports between families often leads to unnecessary worry or complacency and rarely tells you anything useful about your own child.
What should I do if the report raises a developmental concern?
Ask the teacher for specific examples and how long they have noticed it. Then discuss it with your child's doctor, who can advise whether a developmental assessment is appropriate. A teacher's observation is useful information, but only a qualified professional can assess whether a child needs further support.