The freshman crop of broadcast television series typically clocks in at an 80 percent failure rate, so it’s not like you have to be hard on the new kids come grading time.

They make it easy for you.

But still, it must be done. And not all of the grades will reflect rating highs or lows. It’s a combination of critical merit and whether they are adding value of some kind to their respective networks — be it holding the audience of a lead-in series, lowering the demographic or establishing a beachhead on a heretofore dead night.

More weight will be given, however, to whether they are lousy or not. The red pencil is sharpened. The smiley (or frowney) stickers have been bought in bulk. Now, as the freshman season nears its end, let’s bust out the letters.

— "How I Met Your Mother," CBS, Mondays. Grade: B+. Easily one of the most underrated of the mainstream TV comedies. Who knew Neil Patrick Harris was this funny ? With Alyson Hannigan.

— "Kitchen Confidential," Fox, canceled. Grade: B-. Don’t blame the show — based on the book and life of its writer, chef Anthony Bourdain. Blame Fox. This was a decently funny series with a lot of upside that went untapped, of course. With Nicholas Brendon

— "Freddie," ABC, Wednesdays. Grade: D. Moronic and excessively awful, but enough people actually watched it so it has been renewed. As a reminder — that doesn’t make it good. With Freddie Prinze Junior

— "Bones," Fox, Wednesdays. Grade: B. More forensics, but also more funny. There’s witticisms, chemistry and solvable crimes, but there’s a fluff factor that prevents it from moving up a notch. With David Boreanaz

— "Reunion," Fox, canceled. Grade: D. Laughably bad, convoluted and stylistically limiting, this series set out to follow high school seniors as they grew up — one eventually killing another. It was DOA. With Alexa Davalos

— "Four Kings," NBC, canceled. Grade: D. Faux chemistry, bad boy jokes and unbelievable actors. Seth Green was better than the material, but not enough to overcome it.