Kindergarten is a whirlwind of discovery, growth, and learning—but if you’re a teacher, it can also mean a mountain of assessments and progress reports that never seem to end. That’s where a free kindergarten report card printables can be a lifesaver.
Regardless of your grade level, reporting student progress is not always easy. Kindergarten students’ academic progress goes from zero to 60 in a year. I think that is why I have always loved teaching those little 5—and 6-year-olds!
This article will walk you through not only what makes a printable report card valuable but also how to use it effectively in your classroom without the overwhelm. Let’s transform how you report student progress—starting today!
These assessments and this report card are aligned with the Common Core and standards-based grading. In this blog post, I will share my experience with gathering student data without having to stop instruction. Assessments! Report cards! SIGH! Do you feel overwhelmed with them?
Kindergarten is often a child’s first exposure to structured learning. Because of this, report cards serve a dual function: informing parents of their child’s development and guiding educators in planning instruction. Unlike upper grades, kindergartners are rapidly developing across multiple domains—cognitive, social, emotional, and academic.
These report cards help communicate a child’s progress in ways that are digestible and encouraging for families who may be new to formal education structures.
Traditional letter grades don’t paint a full picture in kindergarten. That’s why many educators are turning to standards-based grading, which reports progress based on mastery of specific skills. Rather than assigning a “B” or “C,” you’re indicating whether a student is beginning, developing, or mastering a standard.
This system aligns more naturally with how children learn at this stage and allows for more accurate feedback.
Teachers are already stretched thin. Why recreate the wheel when you can start with a free kindergarten report card printable that’s editable and aligned with Common Core? These ready-to-use resources allow you to focus on your students instead of formatting.
They also help maintain consistency across classrooms, departments, and districts. A well-designed printable ensures all students are assessed fairly and uniformly.
Let’s be honest. If you’ve ever felt like you’re buried under assessments—welcome to the club. It often feels like as soon as you finish, it’s time to start again. Add in expectations from administrators, and it’s no wonder teachers feel exhausted.
Is this a window into your life:
If that is you above, I don’t blame you. I would not like assessments either.
You don’t have to sacrifice teaching time to assess students effectively. Here’s how:
Plan assessments within lessons
Use checklists during group activities
Observe students during independent work
Keep folders or digital portfolios
Make your printable report card your ally, not your burden.
Collecting data is really the middle step. We want first to know:
When we make instructional decisions in our classroom, they should be centered around the evidence we collect. In a nutshell, what do the students know and what do they still need to learn… right?
There are many different assessment types, but one thing they all have in common is data collection based on student performance.
(The Literacy Teacher’s Playbook Grades K-2 by Jennifer Serravallo is a fantastic READ on data-driven instruction) So, how do we do this without stopping instruction?
In kindergarten, there are times when you need to sit side-by-side a student to assess them.
However, most assessments can be done during your daily lesson plans as various subject areas can be observed.
You can embed assessments into daily routines. For example:
During phonics instruction, take note of students who struggle with certain sounds
Use math games to informally assess counting or number sense
Listen to conversations during playtime to evaluate social development
As classrooms move towards a structured literacy approach to instruction, there has been a much-needed discussion around core instruction. Kindergarten classes are focusing on early intervention, or, I should say, early prevention. For most students, reading difficulties can be avoided through systematic, explicit instruction. Daily lessons that include dictation practice not only help cement the letters (graphemes) to the sounds (phonemes), but dictation is the perfect opportunity to gather data.
Dictation offers a goldmine of data. As students write what they hear, you can assess:
Phonemic awareness
Spelling and encoding
Handwriting skills
Plus, dictation is easy to weave into your daily literacy block.
As students go about the independent work of writing letters to represent sounds, you can assess their encoding and handwriting skills.
Decodable texts are great tools. Use them to collect:
Decoding accuracy
Reading fluency
Comprehension responses
Create simple rubrics that match your report card printable to maintain alignment.
You can read more about our Science of Reading Lesson Plans by clicking.
You can gather data about students’ decoding skills as they read decodable texts. I like to gather data on a few students at a time. We can assess 2-3 students during our whole-group lesson plans. Then, we can gather more information on 3-4 students each day during our small group activities. These formative assessments allow me to have my finger on the pulse of student progress continuously. If I notice a student needs more time with a skill, I can be nimble and provide this additional instructional time.
Keeping track of each student is easy with these Decoding and Encoding Recording pages.
You can find these UFLI aligned decodable texts by clicking.
Students strengthen their comprehension skills during our close reading activities. These read aloud lessons are powerful.
Time and attention are given to building listening comprehension. Students can respond orally with their partner or in writing.
Comprehension is more than retelling. Assess students on:
Listening skills
Vocabulary use
Depth of responses
Rubrics offer consistency and help students self-reflect.
Rubrics should inform the teacher, but they can also inform the student, which can be powerful!
You can read more about how we use amazing texts to help build reading comprehension in our young students.
You can also find a directory of the books we use to teach comprehension by clicking:
We start each writing unit with an enlarged version of our writing rubric. Students participate by setting writing goals.
Young learners can participate in their own evaluation. Use enlarged rubrics and discuss:
What does a strong story include?
How do we revise?
This fosters ownership and builds intrinsic motivation.
These goals are fluid and students revise their goals as the month (unit) goes by.
Each unit has a coordinating writing rubric. These are a great way to empower students to take ownership of their own learning.
Each unit should has a focused rubric. Example categories:
Idea development
Spelling/phonics
Conventions
Craft
Update goals monthly with your students.
I sincerely LOVE kindergarten assessments and if you try ESGI, I bet you will too! Here is my suggestion… start the 60-day trial. THEN show your administration how powerful this tool is. I can’t tell you how many principals I have spoken to who said it was their TEACHERS who wanted this assessment so they purchased it for them.
One thing I absolutely love is the parent report. I often attached this report to the standards-based report card. It provides incredible details that go beyond what you could provide in the report card comments section.
These reports are also a great addition to your parent-teacher conference documentation.
Why Parents Love ESGI Reports
Attach ESGI-generated reports to your report cards. They offer:
Detailed feedback
Charts showing growth
Easy-to-understand language
Perfect for parent teacher conferences or documentation.
Don’t:
Wait until the last minute
Use vague language
Overload with too much data
Do:
Track a little every week
Be honest but supportive
Use language families understand
If you’ve never used ESGI, the free 60-day trial is a no-brainer. Features include:
Instant parent reports
Visual progress tracking
Customizable assessments
Teachers rave about the time savings and clarity it brings.
Here is a quick video that shows all of the amazing features of ESGI.
Your printable report card should be a living document. Use it to:
Adjust groupings
Identify students for interventions
Plan enrichment
Assessment should empower your teaching—not hinder it.
Final Thoughts on the Free Kindergarten Report Card Printable
This tool isn’t just a time-saver—it’s a confidence booster. It gives you the structure to document what matters most, while still keeping the heart of teaching intact.
Ready to simplify your assessment life and improve family communication?
Download your free kindergarten report card printable today and take the first step toward stress-free reporting!
Where can I download a free kindergarten report card printable?
You can download it from educational blogs or teaching resources websites that offer editable and standards-aligned report card templates.
What should be included in a kindergarten report card?
Academic progress, social-emotional development, motor skills, and narrative comments are key components.
Is standards-based grading better for kindergarten?
Yes, it provides clearer, skill-specific feedback to both teachers and parents compared to traditional grading.
How often should I update the report card?
Regularly tracking progress—monthly or bi-weekly—is ideal. This helps prevent last-minute rushes.
Can I use this printable with digital assessment tools?
Absolutely. Tools like ESGI complement printable report cards perfectly.
How do I explain grades to parents new to standards-based reports?
Use simple language, visual aids, and real student work examples to demonstrate what each level of performance means.
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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26 Responses
I love this and we are about to revise ours! So this would be a big help but…I was unable to download it or even print it??
Am I doing something wrong??
bharmor@hotmail.com
Thank you Barbara! It looks like the Google Docs is a little overwhelmed right now. Can you try again a little bit? If it still does not work, can you email me?
owens65066@gmail.com
It worked for me. I am very interested in how you report to parents. We have a very vague report card that doesn't give parents much info. Yours is very specific.
Thank you Laura! We hand out the first report card to the parents during our conference time. So we have the opportunity to explain it.
I also had trouble printing or downloading and it looks wonderful. So amazing of you to share your hard work!
Sorry… if you could try again. It looks like it has been downloaded a few hundred times, so perhaps that is the reason you are having trouble.
You can email me if you don't have luck tonight.
I also had trouble printing or downloading and it looks wonderful. So amazing of you to share your hard work!
Hi Deedee~
This is wonderful! I printed it out, and will be bringing it to my next PLC day to show how detailed your report card is in Kindergarten. I also love both assessment packs!
Thank you!
Robyn
I love your report card! I wish we could use it! We have to use our county's and it is Sooo general. Literally just a letter grade in reading, math, science, writing, and social studies. I also love how you show what is expected each 9weeks. Yours is also more developmentally appropriate than our county's expectations! If our little guys can't recognize all letters by the end of the first quarter they are below level! So not fair to these kids!
OMG!!! Thank you! This is my second year using your assessments packs, and I can't wait to give this information to the parents. Our report cards are a bit outdated, and do not reflect the Common Core Standards. With these sheet I will be able to effectively communicate to the parents what skills need to be worked on the most. You are awesome!
All of my SLO's needed to be completed 2 weeks into the school year. How is that for being developmentally appropriate in Kindergarten. Nothing like earning the trust of 4 and 5 year olds. None the less, we all got through it and we are well into the year. We use Fountas and Pinnell for our reading assessment in January and May. We adopted that last year. Before that we used the DRA.
I am sure that many, many teachers are grateful for your assessment models. I know that at my school we were always looking for the perfect way to communicate to parents. It's so important. Renee
I love this report card! It is so parent-friendly!
~Jen
Jen's Kinder Kids
Please come by & visit!! 🙂
I love this! Our report card is common core, but it just lists the standards and it's 1 for emergent, 2 for approaching, 3 for mastered, and 4 for exceeds. The trouble is that until you have mastered all the parts of the standard the student is supposed to be a 2. I really feel that the report card gives no good information (except for the checklist on the back that says which letters and numbers the have "passed"). I have been wondering how to communicate the information I was getting from your assessment packs. I never did come up with anything I liked. This looks great!
Terri Izatt
KinderKapers
I had no idea the assessment virus was everywhere!!!! I am sick of collecting data. It leaves no time to teach! I am considering a data diet!!
LOL! It is an epidemic!
Looks great Deedee! We still haven't finished revising ours. The school is now converting to Common Core, so we will finish the report card then. I will be adding this to my folder of resources. Thanks!!!
Love the report card, thanks for the great freebie Deedee! I was wondering if sometime you could share how you organize assessment data in your classroom? Do you use student data notebooks/portfolios?
~Jessica
Fun in PreK-1
I just have them in hanging folders. That way I can slip info in and out.
I love this report card!! Would you by any chance have an editable version, so that I could make some changes for our school? Thank you in advance for your help.
Sorry, I do not have an editable version.
Do you not assess and report on each standard in the core?
Nope! That is not necessary. Formal assessments for every standard did not make sense to my district and it did not make sense to me. We selected those skills that were most important.
Hi
I cannot print out the free report card/rubrics at all…… any ideas…Ive followed everything correctly I think….
Sharon,
Sorry!!! JUST seeing this. Do you want to email me? deedee@mrswillskindergarten.com
My kids love the game much. Thanks for sharing.