<p>The genesis, meaning, and significance of school grades have been subjects of socio-political and scientific debates for many decades. Beyond research specifically focused on school grades, they serve an important role as a&#xa0;control variable in many studies. Thus, a&#xa0;substantial amount of educational research and knowledge is based on grades, primarily report card grades. However, remarkably few studies focus on oral grades, even though they hold significant legal weight in the formation of report card grades. So far, it remains largely unclear which criteria teachers use when assigning oral grades, whether there are specific preference groups among teachers in selecting criteria, and to what extent teachers consider oral grades when determining report card evaluations. This study investigates these aspects in greater detail and is based on a&#xa0;representative sample of 762 lower secondary school teachers from Germany. The results suggest that teachers particularly consider quality criteria when assigning oral grades but that aspects of work and social behavior were also relevant. Three groups of teachers were identified in latent class analyses: Teachers in the first group (All-in group; 49%) assigned high importance to nearly all criteria. Teachers in the second group (Quali group; 18%) focused mainly on the quality criteria of oral performance. Teachers in the third group (Quali plus group; 33%) included criteria related to work and social behavior in addition to the quality criteria when evaluating oral performance, but for whom, for example, notebook organization and homework were less important than for the All-in group. The significance of explicitly considering and investigating oral grades in educational research will be discussed.</p>