Here is some good news from Portland: Schools shift gears on grades

No more A's, B's or C's for Portland middle school students

Starting in fall, all 17 middle schools will give report cards that tell parents whether students meet grade-level expectations in writing, reading, math, science and other subjects. They'll get separate marks for the effort they put into class projects, participation and homework.

This is not new. I found an old elmentary report card that had different skills and benchmarks on it that were marked with a +, -, or /.

This is a good move for middle schools. It would be good for high schools as well but harder to implement.