SURREY (NEWS1130) – Kids may be learning their ABCs, but they will not be seeing them on their report cards at more schools in Metro Vancouver.

As a pilot project expands in Surrey, up to 30 schools in that city will join 20 in Maple Ridge in erasing letter grades in Grades 4 to 7 in favour of more detailed, descriptive information about students’ work, meetings with parents and ongoing feedback meant to help kids do better.

It’s an experiment being watched closely by other school districts and many parents.

“Not everyone goes into post-secondary, but for those who do, you are graded on what you do. In the real world, it’s not ‘you’ve done really nice’ or ‘you need improvement.’ It should be standardized all the way through,” says Jay.

Anita also feels that school districts are becoming too “touchy-feely.”

“Why are they taking latter grades out of the school system? It’s not right,” she tells News1130.

But others say more detailed information can only help parents help their kids do better in school.

“I think it’s a good idea because you get more descriptive information rather than a simple A, B, C, or D,” says Sukhbir.

The Surrey School District says there is little evidence that letter grades improve student learning or motivation.

One of the goals of the new report card is to describe a student’s progress and performance in clear language.