GRADES AND REPORT CARDS Certainly, grades and report cards are crucial ways for parents to find out how their children do. They serve various purposes. They tell whether students have mastered the school’s learning goals. They show whether young people are ready to move to the next set of goals or to the next level. They help to track the progress of students from time to time. Grades tell if each child keeps up with their classmates. They indicate areas in which students excel and therefore may require more challenges and areas in which they can use extra help. They encourage children to study and give parents a good idea of the expectations of the school. Grades can do these things when they are clear and honest when they really judge the performance of students and when they incorporate important standards. However, grades are vague, inflatable or inconsistent in many schools. Report cards are not trusted academic achievement indicators. Such characteristics are worthless for both parents and students. You don’t just have to pay attention to the grades of your child, you have to find out what they mean in school. Various schools use various methods to report the progress...