• The first document is called . Look at the picture
  It is a unique document that doesn't exist in the American schools. It's a combination of a report card with a day-to-day diary of the homework assignments. Teachers also use it to write their comments, observations, and requests to a child and/or supervising adults (other teachers and counselors). This document also contains grades (otmetki) in different subjects.
• The second document you need to ask for, is the report card. It's called    or
  Look at the picture It usually reflects the results of the school year in quarters. You should know that there are no grades in most Russian schools in the 1st and 2nd year. There is only a pass or fail grade, called . Starting from the 3rd year, the work in school is graded, and there are 5 grades from 1 to 5. 1 is rarely used and means a complete failure. 2 means "poor", 3 means "satisfactory", 4 means "good", and 5 means "excellent". Last two marks are sometimes accompanied with the "-" or "+" modifiers.
  
  
• The third document (actually, multiple documents) is the notebook on a subject. Be sure to take the following notebooks: in the Russian language, called , in math, called , and in science projects. Look at the picture. In the Russian schools, there are separate notebooks on different subjects in science and social studies, such as geography, history, natural science, etc.
• The next document is called pedagogical characteristics Look at the picture
  Usually it is written at the end of the year, but sometimes at the end of a quarter. It's just several lines long, and it's similar to what is written in an American report card. If it doesn't exist, ask a teacher or a counselor of your child to write one.
  
  
• Try to obtain the curriculum in school subjects, especially in math, because you will have to explain why your child is so advanced in math, but still has to be in a lower grade. In Russia the math curriculum is much more rigorous than most American programs in public schools.
  
  
• Ask if the child had any evaluations: psychological, or special like "Speech and Language". If yes, insist on a copy of this assessment: this information will be extremely important.

All these documents are invaluable during the educational testing of a newly arrived child: the specialist can compare your child's scores not only with the standard Russian curriculum, but also against his/her everyday performance in the classroom.

Psychological issues of older internationally adopted children: courses and publications
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Last update on August 28, 2010