As, Bs, Cs and Ds are about to become history for some Montgomery County public school students.
Starting in November, report cards for students in grades 1 through 3 will feature the letters ES, P, I or N instead of traditional letter grades. ES means "exceptional," P means "demonstrating proficiency," I stands for "in progress" and N is for "not yet making progress".
Kindergarten students will be evaluated using this new grading system starting in December.
School officials said the goal is to help parents better understand their children's progress. The new standards-based grading system also complies with the new guidelines for county elementary schools -- a program called Curriculum 2.0.
According to the Washington Post, Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun counties are in the process of implementing standards-based report cards. Other school districts across the country have also replaced traditional, single-letter grading methods.
