Parents of high school students are no strangers to report cards and assessments. But some may still have questions about their child’s grades and, more importantly, how they might affect their chances of graduating. Here are a few ideas on how to help parents make sense of high school report cards and what prerequisites are needed to graduate.
A good way to get ahead of parents’ concerns about when each term ends is to provide them with a list of important dates at the beginning of the school year:
Here are key points to remember about when report cards are issued and how they are weighted:
Note: For students in special education classes, the subjects taught may be different and results will be reported as a letter grade. Report cards may also be different for students enrolled in a specific program or students with an individualized education plan.
Report cards can seem a little daunting at first because they contain a lot of information. Taking the time to go over all the elements of a report card may be helpful for many parents. These elements include:
When it comes to disciplinary competencies, the important thing for parents to know is that they correspond to subcategories unique to each subject.
Meanwhile, cross-curricular competencies (nine in high school compared to four in elementary school) represent essential skills that allow students to adapt to a variety of situations, impacting their holistic development more generally. Since the latter are more abstract, it may be best to explain them briefly by comparing them to disciplinary competencies.
A handful of competencies are typically assessed on each report card, though precisely which ones are at the discretion of the school or school board. Cross-curricular competencies also have no effect on whether a student graduates.
Parents tend to have the most questions about class averages. Some are very concerned about how their child’s performance compares to that of their peers. It is a good idea to remind these parents that the class average is an indicator: It serves as a benchmark to get an overview of the progress of the whole class, but does not say much about any particular student’s progress. If a student changes classes, for example, the class average will also change.
As soon their child starts high school, many parents start to worry about what they will need to graduate. For this reason, it is a good idea to explain the credits required to obtain a high school diploma (DES).
The Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur defines one credit as the equivalent of about 25 hours of classroom or school activity. When a student passes a course (a passing grade being 60%), they automatically earn the associated credits.
Here is a summary of the criteria for earning a DES:
Some parents will be concerned about their child’s marks. While the report card assesses a student’s academic performance at the end of each term, it is not the only way to evaluate student development. It is wise to remind parents that their child’s progress is more important than the mark they receive. Indeed, parents should place more emphasis on their child’s effort than the marks they earn. If the student’s progress is not satisfactory, you should reassure the student and communicate with the parents to come up with an action plan to get them back on track.
There are many different ways of looking at academic success. From an individual standpoint, you could say that success means realizing one’s full potential.
A good idea to help students cope when they are struggling is to recommend the Alloprof Help Zone.
This collaborative space is open seven days a week and allows students to help each other by suggesting explanations for their peers’ questions. All explanations are reviewed by the Alloprof team.
Writing : Alloprof Teachers' team