mamato4 Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Dd is still in 9th grade but I'm in the process of making a report card for her. My plan was to just use plain ol' A, B, C and not even weigh her grades. The only thing I'm tweaking is that to get an A, dd needs to get an average of 92 and up, B = 85-91, C = 77-85. So instead of weighing, I'm sort of raising the bar a little higher to make her work more to reach it. I do plan on including the grading scale on the report. Pros and cons of this idea? Should I use the + and -? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I do not use + and -. I put the grading scale on the transcript, since that is required by some colleges, but I am aware that this is utterly meaningless. Raising the percentage needed for an A only seems to make it more rigorous; without seeing the exams, the grading scale is worthless and offers no meaningful information. I can write an easy exam and use a hard grading scale, and I can write a hard exam and use a seemingly more forgiving grading scale. It is not the grading scale that makes a course more rigorous, but the test. ETA: This topic has been recently discussed in these two threads from last month: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/471906-rookie-q-on-grades-gpa/page__hl__+grading%20+scale#entry4949469 http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/472522-grading-scale/page__hl__+grading%20+scale#entry4958329 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4 Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 Thanks for the links. I should have searched first before asking the question. And thanks for always giving such wonderful responses, regentrude. You always get my mind to ponder more ideas. Dd took her first AP exam in May and her first SAT subject test last Saturday. I hope those will justify her mommy grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I agree with Regen. that grades are pretty meaningless. However, I do feel some folks can't resist using them as a measure of our students. My oldest son said that was true even in the job market -- he felt strongly that some of the top college A students were not actually the best choices for jobs, but the employers just couldn't resist those 4.0's. Therefore, I don't want my student to be at a disadvantage simply because I'm raising the bar, if local public schools aren't doing that, and if colleges and jobs are tempted to use these grades as a weeding tool. So, if my oldest's public school English courses consisted of learning to/too/two every year, with literature consisting of 2-3 short novels (he didn't take the honors courses), usually with extra credit options if something wasn't done well, and I am raising the bar 10x higher than that, I can't see putting my youngest at a disadvantage with a B. I am not a harsh grader, but maybe that's because I'm on my youngest child now :) I figure the most important thing is that the student's ACT/SAT scores somewhat line up with his grades - otherwise it would just look silly. FWIW, I chose not to use +/-, and to use a 90-100 grading scale -- both of which are on our transcript as Regen. mentioned. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 So what do you do when you have a child who is a B student? Some of the programs I recently found require a GPA for admission while in high school.. I haven't figured his GPA for the year, but the subtle +/- points might make a difference. In the scheme of things, we both realize the grades are not comparable to any other school, and some systems of grading are not indicative of learning. I try to be a fair grader, and in a few subjects he simply didn't earn an A. For me, there is a bit of psychology at play as I want him to learn about putting in more effort, and that he's not going to get a "mastery" time in college. I'm trying to build his inner motivation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl B in VA Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 I use the same grading scale as my local public school and I state that on the transcript. It should be noted that some colleges will adjust grading scales so that everyone's GPA is calculated the same. So, if you are trying to give your student an edge it may be a moot point. Blessings, Cheryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Dd is still in 9th grade but I'm in the process of making a report card for her. My plan was to just use plain ol' A, B, C and not even weigh her grades. The only thing I'm tweaking is that to get an A, dd needs to get an average of 92 and up, B = 85-91, C = 77-85. So instead of weighing, I'm sort of raising the bar a little higher to make her work more to reach it. I do plan on including the grading scale on the report. Pros and cons of this idea? Should I use the + and -? A transcript and a report card are not the same. :-) The grading scale would go on a transcript, but not on a report card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 the subtle +/- points might make a difference. If I felt the +/- would help my son, I'd use it. It's a legit way to grade, and the colleges can easily take it out if they wish. At our house, it would probably all balance out, or else not help, so I don't go to that extra effort or complication of things. My oldest son's goals (and my goals) would have been 100. My youngest's goal, and the highest he's ever striven for, involved a 90 :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvaleri Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Second Cheryl B. in VA. Someone once told me to use the same scale and verbage schools use. While I don't "grade" my students; I do put grades on their transcript. Don't want to draw attention by using odd language or a grading system someone else will have to figure out =) JM 2 cents, Teresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4 Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 So, if you are trying to give your student an edge it may be a moot point. I don't think I'm trying to give dd an edge, but at the same time, I don't want her to be at a disadvantage. Sounds confusing, doesn't it? This is my first high schooler so I'm muddling my way through it. My ds's report card from ps does have the scale at the bottom of his report. The report card I'm making is more for myself: to give me practice and to be ready when I do need to make that transcript a few years from now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 No matter what the grading scale is, there's always a chance your student could hit a borderline area where a + or - might come in handy. So, I'd give myself the option at the beginning of high school to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 No matter what the grading scale is, there's always a chance your student could hit a borderline area where a + or - might come in handy. So, I'd give myself the option at the beginning of high school to do that. You know, this seems like it should make sense to me, but somehow it just doesn't sit right in my brain. Okay, if my son gets 90-100, he gets a 4.0 for that course. Whereas, if he got all A+ grades, that wouldn't give him any more than a 4.0, would it? I'm thinking if you mix in some A's and A-'s, then it might give him less than 4.0? I'd like to know for sure. I can see that if you have 92-100 for an A, vs. 90-93 for A- and on up, that there would be an advantage in that 90-92 range. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I was going to add .25 point for a plus and subtract .25 for a minus grade. A+ 4.25 A 4.0 A- 3.75 Using your 90/80/etc grade scale: Imagine you put all your grades into your spreadsheet and end up with an 89.4 average. A B+ or A- grade might be handy. Like I said, it's an option. A few more colors in the paint box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Ah, okay, I didn't realize there was such thing as more than 4.0 (other than weighted scores for AP and such, which we don't do). So a straight A+ student would indeed have more than a 4.0. That is where I got confused. Thanks. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marg Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Coming out of longtime lurkdom to ask: what do you do about plus and minus grades from teachers of outsourced classes? I hadn't planned to use pluses and minuses, but DD received two A- grades this year from online instructors. Do I ignore the minuses, use them just for those classes, revise my whole plan because it will probably happen again? Margie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl B in VA Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Margie, I tell Parents that attend my workshops to convert outsourced grades to the grading scale they have chosen. So if the grading scale from the online instructor gives an A- for 90-92 but that is an A on your grading scale then put an A on your transcript. You can put a note on the transcript that all outsourced classes have been adapted to your grading scale. Cheryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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