We had the same last year when DS was in 1st grade. Using your 1-4 scale DS got 2s and 3s in language arts and reading. He got 3s in everything else - the occasional 4 in science. When I asked the teacher about it, usually the issue was that he wouldn't do or didn't understand some intermediate step that the teacher was asking for. Example: he wouldn't write out what "3+4=7" looked like. He would just write the answer and not "explain his work" or write out 3 balloons + 4 balloons = 7 balloons. So, in the teacher's mind, he couldn't be gifted or advanced, because he wouldn't do all her little steps.
DH has told me all along our public school journey, that report cards don't matter. I didn't understand him until last year. If your child is HG+, the report cards really don't matter because they don't reflect your child with any accuracy (IF your child is in a regular gen ed public school).
DS has been subject accelerated 3 years in math. He will skip a full grade next year - even with very average looking report cards.
This year, I have told the school that we don't need any report cards - that they shouldn't waste a moment on them for us. We let them know that they should call us if there is some kind of problem, but we don't need a report card. We'll see what actually happens in a few weeks.
