🐻
GES Grizzlies Family Guide
A New Way to Share How Your Child Is Learning
Starting in School Year 2027–28, GES will use a new K–5 Performance Report. Here's what it means for your family.
Good news: this change is designed for families like yours.
DoDEA families move frequently. Our military-connected students deserve a report card that means the same thing no matter which DoDEA school they attend — in Germany, Japan, or Virginia. The new K–5 Performance Report does exactly that. It gives you a clear, honest picture of what your child knows and can do based on grade-level standards — nothing added in, nothing left out.
What's Changing — And Why
📋 Old Way
❓ A single letter or percentage that mixes together mastery, effort, homework, and behavior
❓ Different meaning at different schools — a "B" in math at one DoDEA school doesn't match a "B" at another
❓ Early struggles pull down the grade, even after your child has truly learned the material
❓ Hard to know: is my child actually ready for the next grade level?
✅ New Way
✅ Academic learning is reported separately from learning behaviors — you see both, clearly
✅ A level "3" in reading means the same thing at every DoDEA school worldwide
✅ Reports reflect what your child knows and can do now — based on their most recent demonstrations
✅ Clear, honest information about where your child stands relative to grade-level expectations
Every subject area at every grade level will use the same 1–4 scale. Here's what each level means:
4
Meeting the Standard ✅
Your child consistently, accurately, and independently demonstrates grade-level skills — and can apply them in new situations. This is the goal for all students by end of year.
3
Approaching the Standard 📈
Your child shows success with most grade-level skills. With occasional support, they work mostly accurately. They are making strong progress toward the standard.
2
Progressing Toward the Standard 🔄
Your child is demonstrating some grade-level skills with guided support. Their understanding is growing — this is an active stage of learning.
1
Emerging Toward the Standard 🌱
Your child is in early stages of developing these skills and needs frequent support. This level signals that targeted support is important.
💡
Why there's no "Exceeds Standard"
The scale measures how well your child has mastered the grade-level standard — not how far beyond it they can go. Students who are advanced continue to receive challenging work and extensions through our AAPS program, and teachers can note this in written comments. The scale keeps the focus where it belongs: on each child's journey to proficiency.
What the Report Looks Like
Instead of one grade per subject, you'll see clusters of related standards (called Reporting Categories) organized under Report Headings. Here's an example for Grade 3 Math:
Reporting Category
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Operations & Algebraic Thinking
Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division
3
3
4
—
Solve problems involving the four operations and identify patterns
2
2
3
—
Number & Operations
Use place value, round numbers, and multiply by multiples of 10
3
3
4
—
📝
There will also be teacher comments
Teachers will have space on the report for narrative comments about your child's academic progress, strengths, and next steps. This is where teachers can share more about your child as an individual learner — including advanced work, areas for growth, and specific encouragement.
Learning Behaviors — Reported Separately
Four Essential Learner Attributes are reported separately from academic performance, using a +/++/+++ scale. This means a child who works hard and collaborates well will have those behaviors clearly recognized — without them inflating or deflating the academic score.
📋
Responsibility
Managing time and tasks, following expectations, caring for materials, and using digital tools responsibly.
⚡
Self-Starter
Starting tasks promptly, acting on feedback, showing curiosity and persistence when facing new challenges.
🧘
Self-Management
Managing emotions and behavior, sustaining effort through challenges, accepting feedback to improve learning.
🤝
Collaboration
Working cooperatively, showing empathy, valuing different perspectives, and contributing to shared goals.
You'll hear these words in conferences and on the report. Here's what they mean:
📈
Progress — "How much has my child grown?"
Ongoing monitoring shows growth over time toward grade-level proficiency. Progress is about movement and trajectory across quarters.
📸
Performance — "Where is my child right now?"
A snapshot of your child's learning at this specific point in time, measured against grade-level standards. This is what the 1–4 level communicates.
🏆
Proficiency — "Has my child fully met the standard?"
A student is proficient when they have demonstrated full mastery of the complete grade-level standard. This is the end-of-year goal — a performance level of 4.
Now
SY 2025–26: Nothing changes for families yet
Teachers are learning about the new system this year. Your child's report card still uses the current system.
Next
SY 2026–27: Preparation year
GES continues building toward the new system. DoDEA will share more with families as the launch approaches.
GO
SY 2027–28: New K–5 Performance Reports launch
The new report card is used across all DoDEA elementary schools. GES families will receive full guidance and information before this begins.
If You PCS: Your Child's Rights Are Protected
🪖
The Military Interstate Compact Has You Covered
We know PCS moves are a fact of military family life — and one of the most common questions we hear is: "What happens to my child's records if we move to a school that doesn't use this new report card?" The answer is: your family has strong protections, and the new DoDEA Performance Report is actually designed to make transitions easier, not harder.
ℹ️
Important to know: The Interstate Compact (MIC3) is an agreement among all 50 states and D.C. to support smooth school transitions for military children. DoDEA schools overseas — like GES — are not themselves bound by MIC3, but when your child transfers from GES to a stateside public school, that receiving school is required to follow MIC3 protections for your child. The Compact protects your family at the destination.
📋
Placement Must Be Honored
The receiving school must initially place your child in courses and programs based on their enrollment and performance at GES — including gifted, advanced, and special education programs. Your child cannot be held back or demoted simply because the new school uses a different grading system.
📁
Records Travel With You
If official records can't be released in time, GES will prepare a complete set of unofficial "hand-carried" records for you to bring to the new school. The receiving school must use these to enroll and place your child immediately — they cannot delay enrollment while waiting for official records.
🏫
The Performance Report Translates
A GES Performance Report with clear 1–4 levels and narrative comments actually gives receiving schools more useful information than a single letter grade. A "4 in Operations & Algebraic Thinking" tells a teacher exactly what your child knows — a "B in math" does not. The clarity of SBR benefits your child at every new school.
🎓
Grade-Level Advancement Protected
The Compact requires that a student transferring mid-year enters the receiving school at their validated grade level from GES. A school cannot require your child to repeat a grade or course because the grading format looks different — they must honor GES's determination of grade-level standing.
🧩
IEP & 504 Plans Continued
If your child has an IEP or 504 plan, MIC3 requires the receiving school to provide comparable services and accommodations until they can re-evaluate your child. Specialized support does not stop at the state line. GES's records of services and accommodations will travel with your child.
🏆
AAPS & Advanced Programs
If your child is in an advanced or gifted program at GES, the receiving school must honor that placement in an equivalent program. Your child cannot be removed from advanced coursework without a subsequent evaluation — and that evaluation comes after enrollment, not before.
🧭 What To Do When You Receive PCS Orders
1
Contact the GES office early. Request your child's complete academic records, including the current Performance Report, teacher narratives, any IEP/504 documentation, and program placement records. You can request unofficial hand-carried copies to take with you.
2
Ask for a parent-teacher summary letter. Request a brief letter from your child's teacher explaining their current performance level, programs they're enrolled in, and any context a new teacher would find helpful. This is above and beyond the official record — and invaluable.
3
Contact the School Liaison Officer (SLO) at your new installation. School Liaison Officers are experts in MIC3 regulations and can help you navigate record transfers, enrollment, and placement at the receiving school. This is a free service — use it.
4
At the new school, reference MIC3 explicitly if needed. If a receiving school is unfamiliar with how to interpret a DoDEA Performance Report, remind them that under MIC3, your child must be placed based on GES's assessments and program enrollment — not held pending re-evaluation.
5
If you experience issues, escalate. Each state has a MIC3 Commissioner responsible for compact compliance. You can contact the MIC3 National Office at mic3.net or reach Military OneSource for support. The Compact has real enforcement mechanisms.
💡
Why DoDEA's New Report Card Actually Helps Your Family Move
One of the greatest advantages of the new K–5 Performance Report is that it describes your child's learning in precise, standards-aligned language that any educator anywhere can understand. A teacher in Texas, Virginia, or Japan can read "3 — Approaching the Standard in Number & Operations Fractions" and immediately know where your child stands — far more clearly than deciphering whether a "B+" in one district means the same as a "B+" in another. This is one of the core reasons DoDEA is making this change: for families like yours who move frequently, consistency and clarity matter most.
🔗
Helpful Resources for PCS School Transitions
MIC3 National Office: mic3.net — parent guides, state-by-state information, complaint process
Military OneSource: militaryonesource.mil — school transition resources, special needs consultants
SchoolQuest (MCEC): Free tool from the Military Child Education Coalition to manage school transitions
Your Installation School Liaison Officer: First point of contact for all school-related PCS questions
Will my child still receive letter grades?
During SY 2025–26 and 2026–27, yes — the current grading system continues. Starting SY 2027–28, the new 1–4 performance scale replaces letter grades on the K–5 Performance Report for all DoDEA elementary schools.
What if my child is advanced? Will a "4" still show that?
A 4 (Meeting the Standard) is the highest level because the scale measures mastery of the grade-level standard, not performance beyond it. Advanced work and enrichment through AAPS will be communicated through teacher comments and continued program support — not through the academic scale.
What if my child has an IEP or 504 plan?
Specialized programs — including SPED services, MLP, and accommodations — continue exactly as they are. Performance levels communicate progress toward grade-level standards, and individualized goals, services, and accommodations are all still in place.
Can my child improve their performance level during the year?
Absolutely — and this is one of the best features of the new system. Teachers provide targeted feedback and reteaching, and students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning. When a child shows new learning, their level is updated to reflect where they are now, not penalized for where they started.
How will middle school know how my child performed?
DoDEA will develop a coordinated communication plan to ensure middle schools can interpret the new performance data. This continuity is a priority and will be addressed before the SY 2027–28 launch.
How do I talk to my child's teacher about this?
Teachers are learning this system alongside you during SY 2025–26. If you have questions, your child's teacher or the principal are great starting points. More formal family communication from DoDEA will come in coordinated phases as implementation approaches.
We're PCSing to a state school that uses A-F grades — will my child's GES report be understood?
Yes — and here's why you can feel confident. Under the Military Interstate Compact (MIC3), the receiving school must place your child based on their enrollment and academic standing at GES, regardless of grading format differences. The Performance Report's narrative comments and detailed reporting categories actually give the new school more information than a letter grade would. GES will also provide hand-carried unofficial records so enrollment is never delayed. If needed, your installation School Liaison Officer can help the receiving school understand DoDEA's grading format.
What if we PCS to another DoDEA school — will they use the same system?
Yes. One of the most significant benefits of DoDEA's agency-wide transition is that the same 1–4 performance scale and Essential Learner Attribute ratings will mean identical things at every DoDEA school worldwide starting SY 2027–28. A 3 in reading at GES in Grafenwoehr will mean exactly the same thing as a 3 at a DoDEA school in Okinawa, Stuttgart, or Fort Campbell. For military families who move frequently between DoDEA schools, this consistency is a major improvement over the current system where grading practices vary by school and teacher.
What if a stateside school tries to hold my child back because they don't understand the new report card?
This should not happen, and you have recourse if it does. Under MIC3, a receiving school must enroll your child at their validated grade level from GES — they cannot use an unfamiliar grading format as a reason to delay or demote. If you encounter resistance, escalate to your School Liaison Officer at the new installation. You can also contact the MIC3 state commissioner for the receiving state, or reach Military OneSource at militaryonesource.mil. The Compact has enforcement mechanisms and real teeth. Document the issue in writing and escalate promptly.