School Report Card

A school report card is a document or paper that assesses the performance of a student in any academic or other subject they are studying.  In most countries, including the United States and Canada, a report card is issued to students at the end of each term (3 months) or semester (5 months).  In some schools and some countries school report cards are sent out to parents up to 4 times annually.

Most school report cards contain a letter of assessment from each teacher dealing with the student in question, a report regarding any special learning plans and progression, and a brief write up for each subject studied, including a mark based on the grade scale.  The grade scale varies according to each country, but in North America, letter grades are assigned, corresponding to their equivalent numerical percentages.  Grades are defined by the overall percentage out of the whole number of marks for each assignment, quiz, test and exam that were correct, for example 9/10 = 90%. 

The grade scale that is found on a school report card in the United States is as follows:
A             =              90-100%
B             =              80-89%
C             =              70-79%
D             =              60-69%
F              =              0-59%

The grade scale that is found on a school report card in the Canada is as follows:
A             =              86-100%
B             =              72-85%
C+           =              65-71%
C             =              60-64%
C-            =              50-59%
D             =              40-49% (requires summer schooling to upgrade)
F              =              0-39% (can be upgraded through summer schooling, but is a failing grade)

In the United States and Canada, most elementary level school report cards avoid letter grades in the early grades, using a system of checking, grading students’ performance, comprehension, tests, behavior, assignments, and interaction with other students by the following:

Excellent
Very good
Good
Satisfactory
Needs improvement

Additionally, the school report card has expanded to include interim progress reports.  These are generally mailed to parents throughout the year if the student is struggling or doing exceptional work.  The report shows specific marks related to each assignment, test, quiz and exam done to that date.  It also shows how many marks could have been achieved, what was achieved, and the average mark achieved in the class as a whole.  This enables parents and teachers to intercept any educational issues or problems early on, and to develop specialized learning programs to help both below and above average learners.