mrshomework Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I use Rod & Staff 6 for English and I know that their test are graded so the least a child gets is a 50, or at least that is how I have understood it. When I grade my dd Saxon Math test I grade on a 100 point, the test has 20 problems and I give 5 points per problem. If she misses 5 answers in math she gets a 75 on her test. If she misses 3 in English she gets a 95. She just pointed this out to me and I see where she is getting frustrated with Saxon math 7/6. Should I be grading on 100 points or on 50 points? I know my main goal is to have her understand her work and for her to work to get the problems correct. Most of the errors are computational not conceptual. I don't want to discourage her in math. How do you grade your test? She has an interest in going to public high school so the main reason I am grading is to prepare her for that. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 The total number of total points is completely irrelevant. What matters is the percentage that is deducted for a mistake. On math tests, I distinguish between different types of mistakes and give partial credit. On a problem that goes beyond mere arithmetic, a computational mistake is punished less harshly than a conceptual mistake. Problems get longer; it does not make any sense to me to deduct all points on half a page of work if there is only a small mistake and the majority of the work is correct. As the math gets more difficult, the proportion of points I would allocate to the work as opposed the correct final answer would increase. If each of your problems is worth five points, I would allocate the five points to five aspects of the problem and deduct individually fro different mistakes. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 For almost all tests, I just divide the total correct by the total possible. I do give partial credit at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I would assign point values for each problem based on difficulty/complexity rather than make them all the same. So a problem such as "What is the reciprocal of 2/3?" might be worth 1 point while a problem like 2 1/2 x 4 7/9 might be assigned 9 points (2 for converting to improper fractions, 2 for multiplying the numerators, 1 for multiplying the denominators, 2 for simplifying correctly, and 2 for converting the answer to a mixed number). If the student made a mistake in one of the steps, but then carried that error through correctly, I would only deduct for the error. For example, if when converting 4 7/9 to an improper fraction, she miscalculated 9 x 4 as 27 but then did everything else correctly (assuming that the 27 was actually right), I would only deduct half a point. This would give her 94% of the points for the problem rather than 0% and, IMO more accurately reflects her understanding of the material and her performance. I would not, however, give any points if the student made a conceptual error (such as multiplying the 2 and the 4 together, multiplying the 1/2 and the 7/9 together, and then adding the results to get 8 7/18). Since when you do it this way each test will likely have different point values, I would then use the percent correct as the score if you are keeping track. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrshomework Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 Thanks for the great ideas your advice is greatly appreciated! It makes sense and I will be implementing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I use Rod & Staff 6 for English and I know that their test are graded so the least a child gets is a 50, or at least that is how I have understood it. When I grade my dd Saxon Math test I grade on a 100 point, the test has 20 problems and I give 5 points per problem. If she misses 5 answers in math she gets a 75 on her test. If she misses 3 in English she gets a 95. She just pointed this out to me and I see where she is getting frustrated with Saxon math 7/6. Should I be grading on 100 points or on 50 points? I know my main goal is to have her understand her work and for her to work to get the problems correct. Most of the errors are computational not conceptual. I don't want to discourage her in math. How do you grade your test? She has an interest in going to public high school so the main reason I am grading is to prepare her for that. Thanks It seems like she doesn't really understand percentages. 5 problems missed out of 20 is 1/4 of the problems wrong. I would write on the page: 15/20, 75%, C. 3 problems missed out of 50 is a much lower percentage--47/50, 94%, A. I want my kids to clearly understand that grades relate to percentages--and if she doesn't know how to figure a percentage yet, you can show her how. A physical representation can help too--have her count out 20 of something and 50 of something. Then divide both sets into 4 equal groups (for the larger group, go with 48 or 52 if you want it to divide by 4 exactly). Compare what 1/4th of each group looks like--5 for the smaller group, 12.5 for the larger. She can miss many more problems on the Rod and Staff test than on the math test, because she has to do more problems overall. I do give partial credit, mainly to encourage my kids to SHOW THEIR WORK! No work shown, no partial credit. If they show their work and have good understanding but just make a simple calculation error, I give partial credit. Not all teachers do this though, so you may want her to know that as well, if she transitions to public school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I don't use R&S English now, but their Spelling, Phonics, and Reading have a certain number of points available, usually one per question/blank. So if there are 50 possible points and you miss 3, the score is 47/50 (94%), not 97/100. I always put the fraction and the percentage on the paper. The front of your R&S teacher's manual should explain the grading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I use Rod & Staff 6 for English and I know that their test are graded so the least a child gets is a 50, or at least that is how I have understood it. When I grade my dd Saxon Math test I grade on a 100 point, the test has 20 problems and I give 5 points per problem. If she misses 5 answers in math she gets a 75 on her test. If she misses 3 in English she gets a 95. She just pointed this out to me and I see where she is getting frustrated with Saxon math 7/6. Should I be grading on 100 points or on 50 points? I know my main goal is to have her understand her work and for her to work to get the problems correct. Most of the errors are computational not conceptual. I don't want to discourage her in math. How do you grade your test? She has an interest in going to public high school so the main reason I am grading is to prepare her for that. Thanks Saxon 76? You're grading it correctly. The test is set up that way. That R&S's English tests seem to be graded differently has nothing to do with the way the Saxon math tests are graded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8circles Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Said in the most gentle way possible. I think you need to review percentages yourself so that you can explain it to your child. It seems like you dont understand them right now. You've gotten several good explanations already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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