Rules & Policies » Report Cards

Report Cards

report card

The Palms school year is made up of two 20-week semesters. Each semester, students receive two progress reports and two report cards. The same report card form is used for all four reports.

Teachers submit grades on specific dates, and you receive them in the mail about a week later. Make sure your mailing address is up-to-date with the Student Services office.

This table shows the typical schedule for progress reports and report cards:

 
Progress Reports
Report Cards
When issued

Fall semester 5 weeks
grades as of September
no progress reports

Fall semester, 15 weeks
grades as of November
mailed in November

Spring semester, 5 weeks
grades as of February
mailed in February

Spring semester, 15 weeks
grades as of April
mailed in May

Fall semester, 10 weeks
grades as of October
mailed in October

Fall semester, 20 weeks
grades as of December
mailed in December

Spring semester, 10 weeks
grades as of March
mailed in March

Spring semester, 20 weeks
grades as of June
mailed in June
How delivered
mailed to students' homes
mailed to students' homes
Grades
  • Include a grade of E (Excellent), S (Satisfactory), or U (Unsatisfactory) for cooperation and work habits in each class.
  • Show a grade of N (No Mark) for Homeroom.
  • Includes grades for academic classes, with some teachers using an M (rather than a standard letter grade) to indicate that the student is meeting grade level standards.
  • Must show any D's or Fails.
  • Includes a grade of A, B, C, D, or Fail for academic performance and a grade of E (Excellent), S (Satisfactory), or U (Unsatisfactory) for cooperation and work habits in each class.

Tips for Parents

  • Keep in communication with your child's teachers and counselor.
  • Don't wait until the final report card to communicate.
  • Regularly visit the Parent Portal.
  • Actively check Schoology with your child. They may not remember all of their assignments, so it's better to check than to simply ask them if they have any homework.
  • Check planners, agendas, and anything else that your child's teachers require students to write their assignments in.

Eighth Grade Awards

Students who have a grade-point-average of 4.0 over 6th grade, 7th grade, and the 9th grade Fall semester, receive a Principal Award at Culmination.

Students who have a grade-point-average of 3.5 to 3.9 over 6th grade, 7th grade, and the 9th grade Fall semester, receive a President Award at Culmination.

See also:

Frequently Asked Questions

Click or tap the arrows to reveal/hide the answers.

In general, grades for work habits and cooperation cover the previous five weeks.

  • Example: Your child got an S in work habits on the 5-week progress report, but for the next five weeks he earned an E for his work habits. The 10-week report card will usually indicate a grade of E.

Attendance figures are cumulative and cover the entire semester up to that point.

  • Example: Your child's 5-week progress report showed that she was absent 2 days. During the next five weeks, she was absent 1 day. The 10-week report card will indicate a total figure of 3 days absent.

Academic grades show your child's progress up to that point in the semester.

  • Example: Your child received a grade of C in science on his 5-week progress report. During the next five weeks, your child works successfully to bring up that grade to a B. The 10-week report card will show a grade of B.

During the first 2 or 3 weeks of the Fall semester, some students are re-assigned to get them into the right academic and elective classes. Classes can't be balanced this way in advance, since until schools starts we don't know which neighborhood students will show up to attend Palms, or what their academic placements should be. If teacher assignments change on "Norm Day" (usually the 5th Friday of the Fall semester), then other class assignments may change.

As a result, there is insufficient information about many students' progress so soon into the school year, and 5-week progress reports could easily be misleading or uninformative.

Parents who want to follow their child's progress don't have to wait for the 10-week report cards. They can communicate with their child's teachers at any time.

The dates for the progress reports and report cards are listed in your child's Student Planner.

To learn if a progress report or report card has been sent home, read the weekly email.

The 20-week grades for each semester are reported electronically to the district.

For the purposes of the Grade Level Awards ceremonies held in late May or early June, the grades for the semester just ending do not count toward that year's grade-point average, but they count toward the cumulative grade-point average that is calculated the following year.

The following chart shows which 20-week report cards are used as the basis for Grade Level Awards.

Report cards
6th Grade Awards
7th Grade Awards
8th Grade Awards
6th grade, 1st semester
√
√
√
6th grade, 2nd semester
 
√
√
7th grade, 1st semester
 
√
√
7th grade, 2nd semester
 
 
√
8th grade, 1st semester
 
 
√
8th grade, 2nd semester
 
 
 
 

Students using the Naviance system will see a grade-point average that's totaled across 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade.