Grading Apologia General (specifically labs)...

[WaterLily]

My ds is going to be finishing up the first module soon and he has done all of the experiments for that module...and I have yet to grade the lab reports. It's mostly because I haven't made the time. (I may try to do it tonight.) I think I'm going to use Donna Young's guidelines for grading them. Do most of you use that? Here is what I'm wondering. I noticed that she said "After your student has learned how to do the lab reports, you might want to include the report grade as part of his final grade. Until then, the test is 100% of the grade..... The test is 100% of the grade until the lab reports are added. So.. after your student has learned how to do the lab reports, the lab reports will become 35% of the grade and the test 65% of the grade." So now I'm wondering if I should even grade these first few. I mean I suppose I could grade them but not have them "count". It's going pretty well but we are both still figuring out this new book and how to write the lab reports (the most recent one didn't go so well). Am I misunderstanding what Donna Young is saying or is she suggesting that we not count the first few lab reports in the final grade?

[ManyXsBlessed4]

:lurk5: I didn't realize I needed to grade anything but the tests! I'll have to listen in to this.

[WaterLily]

bumping :)

[Lori in MS]

Because it is a new skill for my son, I will not count the first few in his grade.

[Zee]

I didn't grade the first lab report. It was poorly done, but that's to be expected since I didn't give him an example to go by (just some basic verbal instruction and what Wile said in the student intro). Then I pulled out the sample lab sheet (I think there is a link somewhere on Donna Young's site) from the Apologia site and showed him what they expected him to write for the same lab. He was amazed! He used that sample as a "guide" to writing the subsequent labs (we are about to test out of module 2). The labs he has written since that 1st one are like night and day. He still misses parts - but they are getting better. I have been generously grading these first few and will get tougher as time goes and he gets more experience. I did use Donna Young's rubric as a guide, but not in totality, because I am not having my son write out the step-by-step procedure. We are using the KBC lapbook/notebook and that part is printed out for him already as part of the notebook I set up. Also, I didn't feel that it was best use of time right now at his grade level to copy that part out of the book.

 

If I were you, I would grade those from module 1, but not make them count. Once your son understands what your expectations are then I would start making them count. Look for that sample link on Donna Young's site. It was a big help to both my son and I.

[MerryAtHope]

I actually explained the rubric from the DY site and told my son what he would be graded on when he does his labs. However, we did the first one together (I'm only requiring one lab report per module), and we will continue to work on them together until he's ready to do one on his own.

 

I think it's your call. I too took the approach that I would grade it but I haven't decided yet whether they will all "count" or not. My goal is for him to learn how to do a lab report well, without help--if he learns that this school year, he has met that goal. I wouldn't use grading in such a way as to detract from whatever your goal is, but if it can be an incentive, go for it.

 

Honestly, if my son got less than 1 point off of the total, I'd be likely to make him redo the part that lost points. I don't know that I'll accept a "C" lab report, iow. But I might feel differently if I was requiring him to do a report on every experiment.

 

Merry :-)

[Rhonda in TX]

For him, this may be well after Christmas. However, if he doesn't really get it until the end of the year, I'm okay with that. This is our first year with a rigorous science program and one of my goals is that he just learn the correct way to do lab reports. I'm not hung up on giving him a grade for them. Next year will be different. I will absolutely be grading lab reports.