Even if report cards scrapped, education minister says parents will have right to see letter grades

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – Your child’s teacher will be expected to provide a letter grade upon request, says the education minister.

This as the province prepares to consult with parents on the issue of student evaluations in September.

The traditional report card has its critics, and it’s possible it will largely be scrapped after this consultation with parents.

But Education Minister Mike Bernier says if parents feel most comfortable with an A, B or C to figure out how their kid is doing, a teacher will be expected to provide that.

“There are some parents who still want to see a letter grade, who still want to have some of that traditional aspect in there,” says Bernier.

“We’re leaving that open. We expect that if a parent says, ‘I want to see a letter grade,’ the school and the teacher will be able to provide that. But over the next couple of months, I think it will give us a really good feeling of really, what are parents hoping to see?”

Beyond this consultation, the new school year also comes with a new curriculum for kindergarten through grade 9.

“It comes down to, what works for the students, what works for the parents,” says Bernier. “If there’s struggles, if there’s challenges, and on the other side, all the great things students are doing, we want to make sure that that information is getting home.”

Under the existing rules, schools are expected to issue five report cards per school year. This week Bernier has suggested updates could be issued more frequently digitally if parents want that.