To assign grades that accurately communicate student performance, conscientious teachers must ensure their grading is consistent with that of other teachers, reveals student progress, and remains sensitive to impacts on student motivation and parent reaction. Teachers, parents, and administrators of the Round Rock Independent School District in Austin, Texas, met in 1997 to review and revise first-grade report cards, stimulated, in part, by confusion regarding existing report cards and successful changes implemented at the kindergarten level. Criteria emerging from discussions indicate report cards should clearly communicate achievement, provide information about progress toward exit-level standards, be easily understood, provide accurate descriptions of learning, and communicate growth over time. While offering some immediate improvements, an interim report card did not meet all the criteria, and continuing discussions were necessary to engender support for the developmental-continuum approach employed in kindergarten. A steering committee developed a time line, shared information with teachers and parents, and coordinated content-area committees. Planners developed a simple, one-page format that graphically depicts student growth over 9 weeks, progress toward grade-level standards, and information about attendance, special services, student responsibilities, promotion and retention, parent conferences, and reading levels. An Explanation of Stages guide describes key skills and processes linked to developmental progress. Teachers, administrators, and parents provided valuable input during the revision process, and the participation of all stakeholders was critical to project success. (TEJ)