What It Means
Report card has two meanings for a parent. (1) The written report of your child's grades that the school sends home at the end of each grading period; Merriam-Webster describes it as a report on a student that the school sends to the parents periodically, and Britannica calls it a written statement of a student's grades. (2) The annual report on how a state, a district and each school are doing, which the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires every state and school district to publish for the public.
Try It: Find Each Part of Your School's ESSA Report Card
Open your district's report card (2) on its website and tick each part as you find it. ED's guidance lists these among the required contents.
All five. Compare this year with last year, and your school with the district.
Can't find one? A district without a website may share it another way, so ask the school office.
How Parents Say It
- "Report cards come home next Friday."
- "She got all 3s on her report card."
- "I looked up our school on the state report card."
The Breakdown
The two report cards side by side
| (1) Your child's report card | (2) ESSA state and local report card | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's about | Your child | The state, the district and each school |
| Who issues it | The school | The state education agency and the district |
| How often | Each grading period, set by the school | Once a year |
| What's in it | Grades or standards-based levels, often attendance and teacher comments | Test results, graduation rates, chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeismMissing so much school that it puts learning at risk, measured by the U.S. Department of Education as 10% or more of school days, excused or unexcused. See more, spending per student and more |
| Where you get it | Home, by mail or the parent portalParent portalA school's secure website or app where parents sign in to see their child's grades, assignments, attendance and messages from the school. See more | The state's and district's websites |
By stage. In the elementary years, your child's card may use standards-based levels instead of letters; in middle and high school, course grades often feed a GPA. The school's grading policy says which.
Reading your child's card. Look at the comments and any marks for work habits, not only the grades. Compare with the last card rather than a sibling's.
Reading the school's card. ED's guidance asks states and districts to present it in a format that is concise, uniform and understandable, so you can compare schools on the same measures.
When to talk to the teacher. A drop of a full grade or level in one subject is worth a conversation before the next grading period, while there's still time to change it.
Where It Comes From
Merriam-Webster dates the first known use of report card to 1869. The second sense, a public report on schools, became a federal requirement under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, now amended by ESSA.
Good to Know
Under ESSA, a district must post its annual local report card on its website, and the U.S. Department of Education's guidance says the report must be in a language parents can understand where practicable, with oral translation when written translation isn't. A parent with a disability can ask for the report in an alternative format. For your own child's report card, the school sets the grading periods and scale, so read the key on the card or the school's grading policy.
FAQ
What is a state report card for schools?
It's the yearly public report ESSA requires each state and district to publish. It includes results on state testsStandardized testingTests given and scored the same way for every student; in U.S. public schools, mainly the yearly state tests in reading, math and science that ESSA requires. See more, graduation rates, chronic absenteeism and spending per student, school by school.
Where can I find my school's report card?
On your state education department's website and your district's website. ESSA requires districts to post the local report card online, or share it another way if they have no website.
How often do report cards come home?
At the end of each grading period, which the school or district sets. Check the school calendar for the dates.
Do It in Buhata
Calendar, Reminders, Tasks
Put each report card date from the school calendar on your Buhata Calendar and add a Task to read it with your child that evening.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Progress report
(1) A school's update on a student's grades partway through a grading period; (2) the periodic report on an IEP's annual goals that IDEA requires.
- Standards-based grading
A way of grading that reports how well a student has met each learning standard, usually on a short scale of levels, instead of one averaged letter grade per subject.
- Chronic absenteeism
Missing so much school that it puts learning at risk, measured by the U.S. Department of Education as 10% or more of school days, excused or unexcused.
- Standardized testing
Tests given and scored the same way for every student; in U.S. public schools, mainly the yearly state tests in reading, math and science that ESSA requires.
- Parent-teacher conference
A short scheduled meeting between a parent and a child's teacher to talk about how the child is doing in school and how to help at home.
Sources
Merriam-Webster, "Report card"; Britannica Dictionary, "Report card"; U.S. Department of Education, "Opportunities and Responsibilities for State and Local Report Cards" (2025); U.S. Department of Education, "Every Student Succeeds Act State and Local Report Cards" non-regulatory guidance
- www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/report%20card
- www.britannica.com/dictionary/report-card
- www.ed.gov/media/document/report-card-guidance-2025-109244.pdf
- www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/policy/elsec/leg/essa/essastatereportcard.pdf
Last updated .