I concluded there is no way to receive an "exceeds" for my kid in 1st grade. He received a "3" in "able to add and subtract within 20." I have a paper where he had to write ten number sentences that equal 12. This is what he wrote:

6+6=12
10+2=12
-10+22=12
√144=12
4x3=12
6x2=12
20-8=12
36÷3=12
24x½=12
12+0=12

When I asked how that didn't exceed the standards, the answer was because he used things they weren't taught in class (!). I don't see the cupcake at all.