We asked the teacher and she was confused too. She said MCPS had not made it clear and that there aren't many opportunities to get ES.

I wonder the same thing. It seems that if you can do what is expected you are considered "proficient." So... Why is there an ES? Are there opportunities provided to show that you can achieve beyond the grade-level standard? If one is only ever assessed on the material they are expected to know, how are they to achieve an ES score? Is the philosophy on achieving that "grade" consistent between teachers or schools? Is there criteria to meet to be considered ES? Can you be considered exceptional in a measurement area if you haven't even been introduced to all of the area's topics yet? Have they created a system in which ES is impossible to achieve until the last quarter? Maybe a teacher can share what the directive has been in grading... I guess, technically, my child is learning what he should, so I should be fine with the P's? And "I" means they are getting there, so if they still are working in that category (not shaded out for the rest of the year) then that should be fine too? I got more information from the 15 minute teacher conference than I did from this report card.

This new grading system is supposed to be more informative, but I don't fully understand it. Is P (proficient) a baseline or is it mastery? If DS received all Ps except one I, is that a so-so report card, or is it very good? What about those learning skills "grades"? Are they simply informational, or are they something really important?