Public high school students in Williams Lake were sent home with report cards last week, but all that was included on the reports were the student’s name, attendance record, names of teachers and courses.
There were no grades included, except for Grade 12 students. Their report cards did contain grades because graduating students will need information on their marks to apply for scholarships and to post secondary institutions. There’s another exception, said superintendent of schools Diane Wright, and that’s for students who are taught a class by an administrator. Grades would have appeared on report cards for those courses.
The grade-less report cards come following the Labour Relations Board’s ruling last week that B.C. teachers are not required to fill out report cards.
Wright confirmed report cards will be sent home with the district’s elementary students on Dec. 14, and they also will not contain grades.
“I put a letter on the district website for parents and students on Nov. 23, explaining what would be happening. Report cards normally go home in kids’ backpacks and will be this time around,” Wright said.
When contacted by the Tribune, Joan Erb, president of the Cariboo Chilcotin Teachers Association, did not realize the high school reports had already been sent home, but said if parents want to know about a child’s progress, they can always contact teachers directly for information.