I assume that you mean having grades in grades K-8, and not that schooling should not start until 9th grade. I went to a K-12 school for high school (transferr

I assume that you mean having grades in grades K-8, and not that schooling should not start until 9th grade. I went to a K-12 school for high school (transferred in at grade 9); and they didn't give any grades in K-8 [0]. Having said that, I do not think the concept of grades for younger students is inherantly bad, it is just that parents and students are terrible at receiving them. I assume you do see the value in report cards in general. The problem with gradeless report cards, is that it is easy to misunderstand them. For instance, if a teacher says "Johny should improve in X", it is not clear if there is a problem, or if Johny is actually doing amazing, and X is just the place where there is the most room for growth. Ideally, the teacher would be able to communicate this information perfectly; but having a simple grading system can be a valuable to to accurate communication. [0] And their reasoning for giving any in 9-12 was primarily for college applications.