Rising 9th grader.....how to keep track of grades

[cam112198]

Hi,

 

I've been homeschooling for 8 years, and my oldest will be going into 9th grade next year.  How do you keep track of grades?  How do you know what your child is suppossed to take? I've looked at VP Diploma program just to take the load off of me, but I'm not sure that's what I want to do.  I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.  I would love any advice you could give me.  Thanks! :)

[regentrude]

Start reading through the sticky threads for general information.

you can orient your course choices on your state's graduation requirements for public schools or on the admissions requirements of colleges he would be interested in, if he is college bound.

 

Recording grades is easy. Write them down in a word document or a notebook or an excel file.

I found it easiest to give as few grades as possible - major tests, finals, major writing assignments, but not daily work.

[EKS]

I just make a "gradebook" excel file each year.  Each course is a tab.  Then I record each graded thing for each course in its own tab.

 

I also keep all of my student's work and at the end of the year I go through and make sure that everything in the notebook is in the gradebook and vice versa.  Then I keep the notebook(s).

 

I also have a folder on my computer where the gradebooks live.  That's where the transcript and course descriptions go too.  I recommend that you write course descriptions as part of closing out the courses at the end of the year and not wait until your child applies to college (like I did for the older one!).

 

As for graduation requirements, I looked at the well regarded local public high school's requirements and made mine to meet or exceed them.  

[LisaKinVA]

I keep grades with my annual lesson schedules now -- one place for everything.

 

I have an excel spreadsheet with the following columns:

 

Lesson #, Materials, Lesson Description, Date Completed, Checked, Grade

 

I divide up the course material into a series of 120-180 lessons (some lessons might simply be continue working problem set from lesson #X).  They date when it's complete.  It gets checked by me, a qualified sibling (my high schoolers check each other's work in science, math, anything that has a regular guide -- I do content-based assessments), and record the grade (if needed).

 

I do weight my grades for math and science.

 

Math is 50% tests, 30% homework, 20% quizzes.

Science is: 50% tests, 30% labs, 20% homework

 

History is usually based upon essays, although there may be mapwork or other coursework involved.  Weighting depends upon the course/resources.

English grades are usually based upon essays/discussions.

 

Other courses, it depends upon the course and our goals for the course.  I have some electives that are more content based -- the goal is to gain an understanding and appreciation for what is being learned, not necessarily mastery of a topic.  I have some that are project based (digital photography, drawing, and robotics, for example).  The assessment varies based upon the goal/type of course.  Not every elective is purely academic.  I'm working on one right now called "Investigations in Engineering."  It's really a content based course designed to give my oldest a taste of the various types of engineering coursework he's interested in (aerospace, nuclear, marine, structural/architectural, and mechanical). It's a course utilizing lectures, videos, and demonstrations -- not a ton of "doing."  I expect there will be a summary essay for each major portion studied (explaining what he liked/didn't like about the specialty), with a final essay discussing his favorite (and why it is his favorite), possibly defending it as a choice for further study and future career.

 

Seeing what has been expected in the local high school (content/assessment wise) has made me a lot more relaxed in approaching certain courses and assessments.