The Education Department will review the format of middle school report cards.

Chief Education Officer Joseph Christopher disclosed this yesterday after receiving complaints about the absence of regular letter grades and percentages on students' reports.

Instead of the normal A, B, C, D, and F grades accompanied by percentages, middle school students recently received report cards with the following letters M, S, D, and I which stand for most of the time, sometimes, developing, and insufficient effort.

Meanwhile, the report cards of primary school students listed VG, G, S, N, or M which respectively means, very good, good, satisfactory, needs improvement, and a modified programme to meet student's needs.

Several parents have expressed concern that the new grading system -- which is intended to move away from "strict grading'' -- could do more harm than good.

`Much of that (middle school reports) is about the child's attitude rather than his or her achievement. But my preference is to stress both effort and to give grades.' -- Bermuda High School headmistress Eleanor Kingsbury A mother of a middle school student told The Royal Gazette she feared that without the traditional grades, she would not be able to transfer her daughter from the public school system.

But officials from two of the local private schools when contacted said they did not expect the changed format to cause major problems for students seeking admission to their schools.

Warwick Academy principal Robert Lennox said: "We have a test based on what is covered in Government schools. We do obviously read through the reports that we get from schools and they help us considerably.

"But I would reassure any applicants to Warwick Academy that it won't affect their chances here.'' Sister Judith Rollo, head of Mount St. Agnes Academy, said while the private Catholic school reviewed students reports, it also tested applicants.

"We test them to see at what level they are, primarily in maths, English and reading,'' she said. "If a child seems to be performing at a level below the class that they are applying for, we either refuse the application or recommend that they get tutoring.'' The school also requires recommendations from the applicant's principal and minister.

However, headmistress of Bermuda High School for Girls, Eleanor Kingsbury, said the lack of grades placed an increasing emphasis on standard test scores because "schools will be looking for some form of tangible'' evaluation of the student's achievements.

"When we send transcripts we also show how the class performed because you have to give people as much of a context to measure a child's ability,'' Mrs.

Kingsbury said.

"Much of that (middle school reports) is about the child's attitude rather than his or her achievement.

"But my preference is to stress both effort and to give grades.'' But she noted that even if a student with a glowing report card applied to the school, she would be evaluated by BHS' standards.

Asked about concerns over the report cards, Dr. Christopher said: "We're reviewing the design of the report card. There will be a different format at the end of the school term.'' He pointed out that everything going on at middle schools during the first year was scheduled to be reviewed.

"We met with principals to check on whether what we are doing is working,'' Dr. Christopher said. "We expect to get feedback from principals.

"The new format will respond to concerns raised by parents and others.''