How do you handle grading?

[melmac]

I've heard of some only counting test scores without grading daily work. I've heard of some who count daily work and grades; some give an extra 10% for the childs attitude, etc...

 

This is our first year of High School (grade 9) and I've just been grading the daily work and the tests as is with a goal of final grade being composed of 60%tests and 40% daily work. Now I'm wondering if what I'm doing is right or if I should be doing something differently.

 

I'm also wondering if its necessary to have quarterly/semester grades for the transcript, or do I only need the year end grade? We go year round 4 days a week with breaks here and there which makes it a bit difficult to break it up into quarters/semesters.

 

So, I'd love to hear how others handle this.

 

Thanks a lot!

[regentrude]

Let's start from the back:

I do not give quarter or semester grades. I want the transcript to be simple; I give end of year grades only. I list final grades for semester college classes.

 

Math: the grade is determined by one comprehensive final at the end of the semester or course.

Science: at home classes- monthly written exams. College classes- whatever mix of tests/assignments they use.

English/history: grade based on writing assignments.

Foreign language: French grade given by tutor when we had a tutor. My son's Italian 1 grade will come from the end of chapter quizzes provided by the publisher because I am not fluent in Italian and can not use a different method.

 

I assign letter grades only for core subjects.

I give no grade in electives that have no clear cut way to test subject mastery. There I assign a grade of P for participation.

[bluedarling]

I'm at the same point you are (oldest in 9th), but I think what you are doing sounds fine. Most subjects I don't grade daily work, but some I do...depends on the class. (Math is just tests, science tests and labs, history just daily work (there are no tests), English daily work (but spelling/vocab are tests only)). So it just depends. I keep a cumulative grade (but I could separate out if I had to...I'd just have to figure out what dates each quarter were...it'd be "approximate"). The transcipt example I saw only listed a final grade for the course...but there could be other ways to do that! My guess is that you are fine, though.

[Julie in MN]

Honestly, you can do it whatever way you want, and you might want to do it the way that benefits your child the most.

 

I'm all for honesty and accountability, and my grading method of preference would probably be like regentrude, one final assessment overrides any learning bumps along the way. However, I wanted to say that I think some homeschoolers are harder on their kids than any other teachers would be.

 

Your student grades are being compared to students in public, private, and collegiate schools where there are a wide range of grading methods. For one thing, all courses are usually weighted, so phy ed and yearbook staff count equally with Calculus. Also, there is very often "extra credit" granted in order to boost students up; in fact, I've seen this more often than not. There are "re-do" classes in summerschool and Thursday at our local public school, and those grades replace the original failing grade, even if they consisted of simply doing worksheet sets. Sometimes a test score is thrown out, if the entire class performed poorly, even in college courses. Group schools sometimes have to factor in the missed teaching days and course interruptions and such, and sometimes offer test prep sessions that are basically the entire test done as a group. They sometimes weigh test scores equally with group projects, where everyone in the group gets the same grade whether they did anything or not. Homeschools, on the other hand, sometimes can offer their students little "teaching" outside of the textbook and expect students to know everything about everything.

 

That's my little soapbox speech protecting our homeschoolers from disadvantage :) Of course, only you know your student. Some students benefit from raising the bar, especially oldest, rule-following students, IMHO.

Julie

[snowbeltmom]

From my discussions with just a handful of admissions officers, I don't think it really matters how we go about assigning grades because I don't think our homeschooled grades carry any weight with admissions at all. In fact, the adcoms I have spoken with are fine with me not assigning grades at all.

 

Imo, it is very important to have outside verification in the form of SAT/ACT scores, SAT II's, AP's, community college grades, etc. These outside validations are what the college admissions folks are going to use when evaluating our kids.

[Sunshine State Sue]

I found this thread helpful. If you click on the tags at the top, you'll find more threads.

 

HTH!

[G5052]

Imo, it is very important to have outside verification in the form of SAT/ACT scores, SAT II's, AP's, community college grades, etc. These outside validations are what the college admissions folks are going to use when evaluating our kids.

 

 

Several have told me that there is so much grade inflation that they don't really even trust the accredited bricks-and-mortar schools, although they glance at the grades and have a general opinion of certain schools over others. A decent mommy transcript shows that you put thought into their studies and what your focus was, but they're not going to dig into every little detail unless you are trying for a very competitive school or special program.

 

I work for a good community college that routinely sends the top graduates to "public ivies" and nationally-ranked private 4-year schools. Admission there is largely "open door." Only around 20% or so graduate within 5 years, but they pretty much let in anyone with a diploma and test scores that aren't at the very bottom. And the admissions folks tell me that they spend all of a few minutes looking at any transcript they're given, both accredited schools and mommy-generated. And they're just looking for general content, not specifics.

 

My transcripts cover only final course grades, which are sometimes year-long courses and sometimes semester-long. I have backup material with course descriptions and book lists, but the community college won't need that if we go that way.

[snowbeltmom]

Several have told me that there is so much grade inflation that they don't really even trust the accredited bricks-and-mortar schools, although they glance at the grades and have a general opinion of certain schools over others. A decent mommy transcript shows that you put thought into their studies and what your focus was, but they're not going to dig into every little detail unless you are trying for a very competitive school or special program.

 

:iagree:

 

I am not assigning grades, but I have transcripts and very detailed course descriptions along with a "master book list." I have been told that this information, along with the standardized test scores is what the adcoms will be evaluating.

[Melissa B]

We've decided not to assign any grades to classes that do not have outside verification, either through an outsourced instructor or a standardized exam.

[Julie in MN]

If you aren't giving grades, I might keep info on hand just in case you need to cobble up some grades in the future. My son is in dual enrollment, and some of the colleges look at GPA first and foremost for admission, especially in competitive schools such as the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. I know a GPA is ridiculously subjective and meaningless at times, but they didn't ask me :) and they don't apparently have any trouble filling their slots that way. I can't say whether they emphasize GPA for regular admissions (as opposed to dual enrollment), but I might want to keep grading info on hand just in case, since my memory can be faulty.

 

Julie

[bobbeym]

I only give year-end grades for transcript purposes, but the gradebook I use can generate a report card at any point if one is necessary for some reason.

 

Math & Science - unit tests

English - grammar and literature tests, writing assignments

History - outlines (60-incomplete, 80-acceptable, 100-great job), chapter quizzes and final exam

ASL - quizzes and unit tests

[melmac]

Thanks so much. Lots to consider.