The Report Card facts for kids
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| Author | Andrew Clements |
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| Cover artist | Brian Selznick |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Aladdin Paperbacks |
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Publication date
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2004 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 173 |
The Report Card is a children's novel written by Andrew Clements. It was first published in 2004. The story is told by a fifth-grade girl named Nora Rose Rowley. Nora has a big secret: she is a genius! But she keeps it hidden because she worries that people will think she is "different" if they find out.
What the Story Is About
Nora is 9 years old and very smart. She tries hard to act like her classmates. This way, she hopes no one will notice how clever she really is. She becomes friends with a boy named Stephen.
Later, the results from their state tests (like the CMT, or Connecticut Mastery Test) come out. Stephen's scores are low. This makes him feel like he isn't smart. Other students also start to see these scores as a competition. They think the scores show how intelligent someone is.
To help Stephen and show that test scores aren't everything, Nora does something surprising. She purposely gets a bad report card. She gets mostly D's, with just a C in spelling.
Nora's Secret Comes Out
Nora then tells Stephen her big secret: she is a genius! Stephen comes up with a plan. He wants to prove that grades don't show everything about a student. He tells Jenny Ashton, who loves to spread news, that Nora is a genius.
As the news spreads, Nora starts to act differently. She challenges her teachers. She brings up topics they haven't even taught yet. The principal, Ms. Hackney, notices this. Nora also scores zero on three tests in a row. When Ms. Hackney talks to her, Nora explains her feelings. She dislikes grades because they cause too much competition among students.
The next day, Nora pretends to be sick and stays home. But she changes her mind when she learns about Stephen's plan. Stephen has started a campaign. He wants all students to get zeros on their next tests as a protest.
The School Meeting
During a school meeting, Stephen and Nora apologize to everyone. Nora explains her thoughts about grades. She believes grades make very smart kids act stuck-up. They also make average kids feel like they are not smart enough. Mrs. Byrne, the school librarian, agrees with Nora. She says that grades have been getting too much attention.
Meet the Characters
- Nora Rose Rowley: She is the main character. Nora is a secret genius. She is described as short with reddish-blond hair. Nora loves to research new things. By kindergarten, she had taught herself Spanish. She also read National Geographic at just two and a half years old! Nora enjoys astronomy, Latin, archaeology, and soccer. Her mom says Nora is thoughtful, kind, and caring. She has two older siblings: Anne and Todd. Stephen is her best friend.
- Stephen Curtis: He is Nora's best friend. Stephen doesn't feel very confident because of his low test scores. English is his favorite subject. He is always kind and never says anything mean. He got better grades than Nora at first. This was because Nora purposely failed her tests. Stephen is a good friend.
- Ms. Hackney: She is the principal at Nora's school. She was upset when Nora got three zeros in a row.
- Mrs. Byrne: She is the librarian at Philbrook Elementary School. Mrs. Byrne was one of the first people to learn about Nora's high intelligence. She helped Nora with her plan. She also felt that grades caused too much competition.
- Dr. Trindler: He is the guidance counselor. Dr. Trindler gave Nora an IQ test. He was the second person to find out how smart Nora was.
- Ms. Noyes: She is Nora's Social Studies and English teacher.
- Mrs. Zhang: She is Nora's science and math teacher.
- Mr. Rowley: He is Nora's dad. He expects his children to get good grades, no lower than a B.
- Mrs. Rowley: She is Nora's mom. She also expects good grades from all her children.
- Mr. Todd Rowley: He is Nora's older brother. He is three years older than Nora. He is said to get low grades and doesn't seem to care much.
- Miss. Anne Rowley: She is Nora's older sister. She is six years older than Nora. Anne gets perfect grades and is in the band. She is described as intense and always wants to be noticed.
