Quebec's minister of education has decided to hold off by one year introducing changes to the way students in elementary and secondary schools are graded.

Education Minister Line Beauchamp said she wants to ensure all of the teachers affected, numbering around 90,000, receive training before introducing the new report card. (CBC)

Line Beauchamp announced Friday she made the decision based on the advice of an advisory panel, which said with a new curriculum in place, it's too soon to revamp the grading system.

She said the delay will give time for teachers to be trained on the new evaluation procedures.

Marcus Tabachnick, chair of the Lester B. Pearson school board, said educators were dreading the idea of having the changes rushed through.

"It just didn't make sense to make a dramatic change after the school year for 2010-2011 had already been planned, the calendars had been drawn up, the schedules had been done, so it's a good announcement," he said. "I think it's going to be a relief."

Once the changes are in place in September 2011, the ministry will return to report cards based strictly on a numerical system and schools will publish three report cards a year, rather than four.

The first report card will be distributed before Nov. 20, the second before March 15, and the third, by July 10.

Beauchamp said the new, uniform report cards will be easier for parents to understand.

The minister said that the report cards will be weighed differently for their accumulative value. The first two will be worth 20 per cent each of the child's final grade, while the third will be worth 60 per cent of the child's final grade.

It will grade children on their knowledge, instead of "transversal competencies" — or the student's capacity to use knowledge in a variety of situations — which is what the latest report cards have been evaluating.