Rating: 
Summary: This Book Got an A!
Review: "The Report Card" is a story about a young girl who has a major issue with report cards. Having hidden the fact that she's a genius all of her life, she feels that grades on report cards aren't a good measure of a student. She decides to do something about it by getting all Ds (and one C, to her disappointment) on her own report card.
Things seem to be going the right way at first, but even a genius can't anticipate everything. It's not long before the situation becomes out-of-control, but fortunately there are those willing to help.
While it's possible this book might have a negative effect on some children, I don't think it's really suggesting that anyone hide their genius. If anything, it's simply suggesting that child geniuses can do great things, but at the same time, they need some time of their own to simply be like ordinary kids. That, and the action this book can inspire about the matter of grades, means that it gives two (and possibly more) great messages.
The character portrayals seem reasonably accurate. Well-rounded characters are important, but it's also important to remember too that there are parents and other adults out there who can be rather close-minded, and don't take the time to actually get to know what's going on in the life of their child as well as they should. (Without being unnecessarily prying and intrusive, of course)
Rating: 
Summary: Clements Writes Another Winner
Review: Fifth Grader Nora Rowley is a genius. However, she decided in kindergarten that she wished to be best friends with Stephen, a middle of the road kid, and that meant being a normal kid. Now she is in 5th Grade and dislikes what seems like many peoples obsessions over grades, and especially the way tests make Stephen feel, and so she hatches a plan to make people think twice about what they mean. This enjoyable novel carries not only Clements typical theme of the power of what kids can achieve but also a thoughtful discussion of grades and standardized testing. The ending sees Nora's opinions evolve and will leave readers with some things to think about.
Rating:
Summary: Clements Writes Another Winner
Review: Fifth Grader Nora Rowley is a genius. However, she decided in kindergarten that she wished to be best friends with Stephen, a middle of the road kid, and that meant being a normal kid. Now she is in 5th Grade and dislikes what seems like many peoples obsessions over grades, and especially the way tests make Stephen feel, and so she hatches a plan to make people think twice about what they mean. This enjoyable novel carries not only Clements typical theme of the power of what kids can achieve but also a thoughtful discussion of grades and standardized testing. The ending sees Nora's opinions evolve and will leave readers with some things to think about.
Rating:
Summary: A great way to open a dialogue about the value of grades
Review: Growing up, did you think your grades and test scores were an accurate representation of the complexity of who you were as a person? Probably not. Many of us felt misunderstood when our report cards arrived with their simplified picture of our educated selves. Nora -- a genius in hiding -- watches when the fourth grade standardized test changes her school culture for the worse. Suddenly school seems to be less about learning and more about competition, with the gifted kids streaming ahead. And Nora's best friend, Stephen -- a kind, gentle, hard-working young man -- suffers a terrible blow to his self-esteem when he freezes up and his resulting test score is abysmal. Nora's plan and execution give the reader the opportunity to think hard about our educational culture. From parental expectations to real estate prices, The Report Card does a great job of explaining how test scores became all important despite being an incomplete illustration. Clement's ability to sympathize with his characters makes this an ultimately hopeful read with no one minimized to "bad guy" status. Subversive thought it may be in its questionning of the subject matter, even parents who want their kids to get all A's will value the thoughtful respect with which the story is handled. A great read!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: I am a teacher who adores Andrew Clements' books. I use them for class reading and for literature circles. Clements never talks down to kids-- he writes both kids and adults as people rather than caricatures or puppets to advance a plot-- and his stories are engaging and interesting. I enjoyed reading The Report Card, although it was a bit preachier than his other books, and some characters, especially Nora's parents, are not as well developed or realistic as I expect from Andrew Clements. The debate about standardized tests is highlighted, and as a teacher it was nice to see it pointed out to kids that most teachers are not test fans either. The fact that standardized test numbers can't really tell you much about a child seems to be Clements' main point, and it's one I agree with. My main concern about The Report Card is the mixed message it sends about being smart, especially being a smart girl. Nora, the highly gifted heroine, has been hiding her intelligence for years, in large part so she won't make her best friend, a boy, feel bad. I had expected Nora to come to a realization that her intelligence was a gift to be celebrated and shared. However, the resolution leaves Nora content to be "normal," which by Nora's definition means not to pursue any opportunities available to learn about and expand her gifts, and essentially to continue masking her intelligence so that other people won't be made to feel bad. My worry is that girls in the target age group will read The Report Card and conclude that "normalcy" does not include intelligence. While I don't believe that this was Clements' intention, the message is there. Girls have hidden or downplayed their academic abilities far too long-- we should be teaching them to embrace their talents.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh Dear! Pretty Disappointing!
Review: I know I will sound like an echo of the previous reviews, but I must chime in, in complete agreement. While I find the author's position on testing absolutely on target, it disturbs me that Nora ends up deciding that she will continue to hide her abilities in order to have and keep friends.
I am *hoping* Mr. Clements wants us to be disturbed in this manner, that he actually is putting this sad finale in place to make teachers, librarians, and especially *parents* consider that this is what our testing community has done to children like Nora.
Please, Andrew Clements! Let us know!
Rating:
Summary: a sure hit
Review: I liked this book because Nora shows a lot of confidence in herself. Stephen is a good friend and sticks with her. I think that Andrew Clements is great.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I really enjoyed this book! I thought it connected teacher's worries and frustrations about grades and testing to the way students feel about them as well. I didn't think it showed a negative view towards being smart. Instead, I viewed Nora as very confident in her intelligence and her need to fit in with the others. I admired Nora's character in the way she tried to right the wrong she saw in testing and grades. It was easy to follow and kept me wondering "what happens next?"!
Rating:
Summary: a winner for anyone who has ever gotten a bad grade
Review: In a family of high achievers, Nora Rowley seems to be the odd one out. While her sister's grades and accomplishments are extraordinary, and her brother's are certainly far from lacking, she brings home a report card full of Ds. For years, Nora has convinced her parents, teachers and friends that she is nothing more than average; her brightest talent is on the soccer field. Nora, in truth, is anything but average. She takes college-level astronomy courses online and taught herself to understand Spanish by watching television. In short, she's a genius, but she hides her abilities from almost everyone because she doesn't want to be singled out. The only person who knows this is the school librarian, who discovers Nora's list of visited websites and sees Nora for what she is. Nora, in turn, confides in Mrs. Byrne. As an experiment, she is purposely scoring low to average on tests in order to show everyone that intelligence is not necessarily equal to your test scores. What she starts, instead, is a revolution. For anyone who has ever received a low test score and said, "I thought I did better than that!" or "I'm smarter than that!" this is a book to check out. As he did with FRINDLE and THE SCHOOL STORY, Andrew Clements creates a perfect setting to raise the question of "What if?" and take it beyond simple answers while keeping the story believable. Kids are heroes, and everyone wins in the end. --- Reviewed by Carlie Webber
Rating: 
Summary: the pressure to be yourself
Review: Nora brings home a report card full of D's on purpose to protest grades and how kids label themselves based on grades. This act of rebellion upsets her parents and starts an investigation which uncovers the secret Nora has been keeping since she was a toddler and learned to read. She is actually a profoundly gifted girl masquerading as a "normal" one. Both editorial reviews mention this secrecy in a neutral/positive way; it being a reasonable method to avoid the "pressures" associated with high intelligence. What disturbed me greatly about this book is that the author evidently agrees. This report card is not the first one that Nora has manipulated, just the first one that was caught. Nora has been manipulating report cards since she started school, maintaining a nondescript C+ average. Imagine how much pressure that takes, to never ever let it slip to the teacher or classmates that you really understand the material in a significantly deeper way? Every day in class discussions, homework, written assignments, tests... constantly being on guard not to get too many answers right or answer something too thoughtfully and blow your cover. Doesn't that put a lot of pressure on a child? Not for Nora. The author gives Nora a compelling reason for this behavior: hide your talents so you can have friends. Nora has found wonderfully caring, honest and brave friends, especially Stephen, and believes that to keep her friends she must act normal - just like they are. To maintain her special friendship with an honest, trustworthy, wonderful boy, Nora has to maintain a life of deceit. In a world where teen age girls often feel pressured into dumbing themselves down to attract boyfriends, Nora wins the prize by starting in kindergarten.
What a role model!
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