Analysis · October 21, 2026

How to read a congressional report card

A step-by-step guide to a member's report card: the overall grade, the three scores behind it, the bill stages, the comparisons and the labels, using a real member as the example.

Every member of Congress has a report card on this site. Each one packs a lot of information into a small space, and this guide walks through it piece by piece. We will use the report card of Robert B. Aderholt, a Republican who represents Alabama's 4th district, as the example. The grade is close to the middle of the House, which makes it a useful illustration of how the parts fit together.

1. The overall grade

At the top right of every report card is a letter grade. Aderholt's is a C−, from an overall score of 72 out of 100. The overall score is a weighted average of three separate scores:

• Vote attendance, 40% of the grade
• Bills written, 35%
• Bills supported, 25%

Letter grades follow a familiar scale: 93 and above is an A, 90 to 92 an A−, 87 to 89 a B+, and so on down to an F below 60. The median member of the House scores 79, a C+, so a C− is a little below the middle.

2. The summary paragraph

Under the member's name is a paragraph in plain English that states the main facts: the seat they hold, their grade, how many roll calls they voted on, how many bills they sponsored and how far those bills got. If you read nothing else, this paragraph tells you the essentials.

3. Vote attendance

The first of the three scores measures how often the member voted. Aderholt was eligible for all 674 House roll calls held so far in this Congress and missed 20, an attendance rate of 97.0%.

The attendance score runs on a straight line from 85% attendance (0 points) to 100% (100 points). At 97%, Aderholt's attendance score is 80. Each score has a small meter and its own letter, so you can see at a glance that attendance is a B− for Aderholt. The typical House member has voted on about 98% of roll calls, so Aderholt is close to, but a bit below, the middle.

4. Bills written

The second score is about the bills and joint resolutions the member sponsored. The report card shows four boxes with the count at each stage:

That adds up to 28 points. The point total is then compared with every other House member's. Aderholt's 28 points sit at about the 44th percentile of the House, which converts to a "bills written" score of 72. (The member with the most points scores 100, the median member scores 75 and the member with the fewest scores 50.)

Below the scores, a list titled Bills that advanced shows each sponsored bill that moved past introduction, with a link to it on Congress.gov. For Aderholt, the bill that became law is a joint resolution allowing displays on the National Mall and the Washington Monument for the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations. The list also includes the $2.50 for America's 250th Act, which passed the House, and two appropriations bills for Labor, Health and Human Services and Education that Aderholt sponsored as chair of the subcommittee that writes them.

5. Bills supported

The third score counts bills the member cosponsored. Aderholt cosponsored 124, compared with about 257 for the typical House member. That is in the bottom sixth of the House and gives a "bills supported" score of 58.

6. Putting it together

The overall score is the weighted average: 80 × 40% + 72 × 35% + 58 × 25% = 72 (rounded). Seen this way, the grade tells a clear story. Aderholt shows up for most votes, writes a moderate number of bills with some success, and cosponsors fewer bills than most colleagues. Each part of that story is visible on the report card, so you don't have to take the letter grade on faith.

Notice that the grades are pulled in different directions by different scores. That is common. Very few members are at the top or bottom on all three, which is why the three scores are shown separately and not just the overall grade.

7. How the member compares

Each report card has a section headed How [member] compares. It places the member in context: their rank in their chamber and their party, their rank within their state's delegation, their attendance and bill numbers next to the typical member's, and whether their grade has changed since the last weekly digest. For Aderholt, it shows a rank of 330th of 439 House members, and 7th of Alabama's 9 members of Congress.

8. Labels to look out for

• Partial term means the member took office partway through the Congress and was in office for fewer than half of their chamber's votes. Their bill totals cover less time than everyone else's. See New arrivals.
• Delegate appears in place of a district for the six non-voting members from DC and the territories. They are eligible for far fewer votes. See Delegates and the territories.
• The Speaker traditionally votes only occasionally, so votes the Speaker skips are not counted against them.

9. Sharing and badges

Each report card can be shared as an image, posted to social media or copied as a link. There is also a small badge that anyone can add to a website; it updates automatically when the grade changes.

10. If you disagree with the weights

The standard weights reflect one view of what matters. If you think attendance should count for more, or cosponsoring for less, open Adjust grading on the home page and move the sliders. Every member's grade updates immediately. Your settings stay in your browser and don't affect anyone else's view. Member pages, badges and share images always use the standard weights so that everyone sees the same grade when they share a link.

For the full rules, see the methodology. To find your own members, search by name or ZIP code on the home page or browse by state.

Figures are from the Congress Report Card data as of October 21, 2026. Grades change as Congress votes, so the numbers on member pages may have moved since. How grades are calculated.