Elementary and high school students in Quebec will only receive two report cards instead of three this academic year due to the novel coronavirus health crisis.
The province’s education ministry announced the decision Thursday to drop the fall report card, saying the goal is to lighten the workload of teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic and offer more support to students in need.
Under the plan, there will no report card in November but parents will receive an update on their child’s progress by Nov. 20.
The first report card is due by Jan. 22, 2021 and the last will be distributed to students no later than July 10, 2021.
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Parent-teacher meetings can still go ahead as planned in November — but how that happens depends on the public health measures in place. A second meeting should be held in the spring, between the two report cards, according to the ministry.
“It is essential to allow quality exchanges and feedback that will promote learning that consolidates school-family collaboration,” the ministry said in a statement.
The province’s changes also mean that ministry exams for elementary school students and high school students in cycle one (grades 7 and 8) will count for 10 per cent, instead of 20.
Quebec’s decision to reduce the number of report cards come as new sanitary measures took effect Thursday for high schools in designated red zones, including Montreal and Quebec City.
In those areas, masks are now required on school grounds and classrooms to prevent the spread of COVID-19.