Standard Student Report Card

A standard provincial report card on student learning is in the works for Nova Scotia's public schools.

The format of report cards and how often they are distributed to parents varies greatly throughout the province. A team has been formed by the Department of Education to bring consistency to this important tool for informing parents of their children's progress.

"Parents need meaningful information about their children's learning," said Education Minister Jane Purves. "This team will look at all the models in place and in development across the province. It will then make recommendations for a common approach that will give parents a clear picture of how well their children are doing."

The team aims to develop a provincial report card policy. Use of letter or numeric grades, additional commentary from teachers and frequency of reporting will be considered. The team will also explore and make recommendations on other effective ways to communicate with parents.

The team has representation from school boards and the department. It will consult with parents, students, teachers and school boards.

"Parents need quality feedback from teachers in order to help their children with difficulties and encourage them to continue building on their strengths," said Sandra Himmelman, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Home and School Associations. "I'm glad that education partners in the province are working together to improve reporting and I look forward to contributing through the consultations."

The team's work will meet government's commitment to introducing reliable and fair evaluation and reporting systems to provide parents with accurate, regular information about their children's progress.

The department aims to have a new reporting policy and standard report card template in place for September 2002.