How We Calculated the Grades

In this report card for the 2006 Washington State Legislative Session, we analyze and grade the performance of the individual legislators, and the Legislature as a whole.

For the individual legislators’ grades, we used a combination of the votes on five separate bills. We assign points to each bill based on its importance.  Legislators who support the Sierra Club's position on a bill earn the points for that bill. 

To recognize how much work goes on behind the scenes, we also assign extra credit for exceptional efforts. For legislators who went out of their way to block the environmental agenda, or who tried to pass bills we opposed, we subtract points. Finally, we add up the totals and assign letter grades.