Okanagan-Similkameen School District drops elementary school letter grades

Report cards handed out to elementary school-aged children in the Okanagan-Similkameen School District next week will look very different.

School District 53 has opted to eliminate the traditional letter grade system in favour of a four-point proficiency scale.

It means students will be evaluated on subjects as either emerging, developing, proficient or extending.

The district is implementing the B.C. Ministry of Education’s draft K-9 student reporting policy.

Marcus Toneatto, the district’s director of learning and inquiry, said the idea is to move away from content and memorization and towards building critical analysis skills.

It’s also intended to complement the province’s new curriculum.

“It really does make sense but it’s a shift,” he said. “I think it will be actually more motivating for students.”

Parents will receive a minimum of five reports annually describing their child’s progress, but can also opt for a traditional report card.

“There are still those parents who would like to see letter grades because they value letter grades and we understand that and they can request letter grades,” Toneatoo said.

WATCH BELOW: (Aired Sept. 4 2018) More than 40,000 students head back to school in the Okanagan and surrounding region

2:23 More than 40,000 students head back to school in the Okanagan and surrounding region

Jason McAllister, the principal at Oliver Elementary School, said educators and parents were consulted on the new evaluation system and the majority are in favour.

“What we think is we’re making students even more accountable and we’re responding to each student’s needs so when we’re talking about specific areas where they might be developing, we also explain how they can move to be proficient,” he said.

The Okanagan-Similkameen School District is not the only one in the Okanagan Valley using the proficiency scale to evaluate elementary school-aged student’s progress.

The North Okanagan School District said it piloted the project last year and it’s been expanded to all 13 schools this year.

The Central Okanagan School District said it is also testing out the proficiency scale and the majority of schools have at least a few classrooms participating.

2:03 International dispute could have real cost for Okanagan schools

WATCH ABOVE: (Aired Aug. 7 2018) International dispute could have real cost for Okanagan schools

Meanwhile, the Okanagan Skaha School District said it has not implemented the policy.

“Our staff are busy with other initiatives, so we will wait for the new policy to be finalized prior to shifting our practice,” said superintendent Wendy Hyer in an email.

The B.C. Ministry of Education said in an email to Global Okanagan that the draft policy is now being piloted in 13 school districts and two independent schools for the 2018/2019 school year.