It’s the final month of the school year and soon students will bring home their report cards.

For many parents, report cards are a measure of their child’s success, but one expert suggests that parents are going about the marking system all wrong.

"My problem is how fixated parents are on the report card and how that tool does not keep kids motivated or take ownership for the learning process,” says parenting expert Alyson Schafer.

Schafer believes report cards do not tell the whole story about how a child is doing in school. Instead, she said it should be considered a summary.

"We have narrowly defined that the only way to succeed in childhood is to be an academic, to get straight A's -- somehow if you're not achieving, you're not going to have a place in life," she said.

The Superintendent of Education at the Greater Essex County District School Board, Clara Howitt, says parents should focus more on teacher’s comments.

“I encourage parents to read the entire report card, not just the grade,” says Howitt. “Those comments are very rich and valuable. It's not the only method and it shouldn't be the first method."

Howitt also tells CTV Windsor communication with educators should be happening throughout the year -- face-to-face, by telephone and even online through a program at the public board, called "Edsby."

“It takes a community to raise a child and do great things, so that communication needs to be happening all the time,” adds Howitt.

Schafer suggests parents read through the report card with their children—and then put it away and regroup after a much needed break this summer.