Report cards...yes or no?

[home4good_1405]

Hi there! I pulled my daughters from public school, and just started homeschooling my daughters 9 & 11 this year. I grade their writing assignments, math, spelling, english tests etc, but that's where it ends. They see the grade, we review what needs worked on and move on. How many of you keep a grade book and do report cards? Should I only worry about this in high school? Thank you in advance for your advice!

[Desert Strawberry]

No grades for us. Pass or fail. but even then, not really. If they haven't mastered something, we continue working on it till it's right. 

 

High school, too. We edit his writing and I give him another assignment. He works on math he can get 90%. If he can't, he starts the chapter over and uses additional resources.

[Farrar]

We don't do grades at all. I can't imagine doing a report card. Maybe in high school. Certainly not before.

 

We do pause and check in by doing things like making goals and listing the books everyone read and the field trips they've been on, but that's pretty different from a report card. In the context of homeschooling, report cards seem pretty empty to me.

[Guest]

I don't even do grades in high school, let alone before then. Just let it go.

[73349]

I will not keep a grade book before 7th grade (because he might go to a b&m high school). I do a narrative progress report four times a year to make note of how he's doing in each subject.

[OneStepAtATime]

I found that the kids and I had to reprogram our thinking.  Checking and grading work should be to determine if there are any gaps, areas of confusion, etc.  That knowledge should be used as a diagnostic tool to help with learning.  The grade is not the end goal.  In school the kids had been programmed to think the grade was the end goal and they would get upset when I checked work and they had made mistakes.  We had to reset.  No grades at all.  Just reviewing material and then filling in gaps, clarifying areas of confusion, etc.  Eventually DS wanted grades back in the picture, so I do grade a lot of his stuff but only because he feels better seeing those grades on his papers.  It helps him judge if he needs additional review.  DD just wants confirmation that she understood the material.

[ScoutTN]

Like the pp, no grades here. Just work at it until it is mastered and move on. Correct daily work so you can see where their thinking isn't clear or where habits (neatness, rushing through etc.) need to improve. 

I do have to submit grades to our umbrella school for each semester, but my kids never see those.

 

[Rosie_0801]

I don't see the point in report cards unless you are reporting *to* someone. Since the only someone who usually matters is the children's father, you can just tell him!

 

 

I have to write monthly report for dd's father, but still don't do grades because we're either working to mastery, or dabbling for the fun of it.

[TX Native]

I always considered report cards as communication from the teacher to the parent about how well or not well the student is doing in each subject. If I am the teacher, I KNOW how well or not well my child is doing in each subject so report cards are useless in our situation. High school may be different since colleges want to see grades for each credit, but I will reevaluate then as to rather I call it a report card and hand it to my child/student as such.

 

I do have to assign grades for each subject with our twice/year attendance report for our umbrella school. At this time, I just kind of wing it for a grade. A's for subjects they show great effort and progress, B's for subjects that they give good effort but aren't giving it their all or an area they struggle but try hard, and I don't allow mediocre or sloppy effort that would receive C's or D's. We work at stuff at their pace, not at state standards' or common core's pace. They do not know I send the grades in twice/year. As they are getting older, they do like a letter grade on their math worksheets or spelling dictation exercises. We celebrate each A, rework any assignments that don't get an A and celebrate we have the opportunity to do that. 🙂

[J-rap]

We don't do anything with grades til high school, and even then, I don't actually make up report cards.

 

However, if your girls are coming out of public school, I can see that they might think it would be fun to get a report card.  So, go ahead and do what you want!  But I wouldn't really use them for anything else.

[Julie of KY]

No grades. No report cards. ... well, I do have to do high school grades for our transcript.

 

The only reason I've ever considered report cards is that all their friends get perks like free Krispy Kreme donuts for good grades. Oh well, I just take them out for donuts and save myself the time of grades.

 

edited to say that I'm graduating my oldest this year and he had no problem getting admitted to even the very selective school he applied to.

 

 

Edited January 9, 2017 by Julie of KY

[KristaJ]

I track grades for record keeping purposes only.  I use Scholaric to make a schedule, and it has an automatic report card feature.  I only use it if my ex asks to see grades.  Since we work until the kids achieve mastery, grades are pretty much irrelevant. 

[Tanaqui]

I really wouldn't do numeric or letter grades unless a. it was required or b. you're planning on your kid entering school soon and you want them to get used to them. (And in that case, I'd set a clear rubric, visible to the kid, and grade along it.)

 

I don't think it's wrong to do grades, but it can convey the impression that school and learning is about getting a good grade (or a good enough grade) rather than about mastering the material. In school, it functions as a short way to say "This is how much you understood the material", but when you've only got one or two students it's much more effective to just say "Okay, clearly we need to work on punctuation, but your spelling has improved, and I really like the way..." or whatever.

[Ellie]

Hi there! I pulled my daughters from public school, and just started homeschooling my daughters 9 & 11 this year. I grade their writing assignments, math, spelling, english tests etc, but that's where it ends. They see the grade, we review what needs worked on and move on. How many of you keep a grade book and do report cards? Should I only worry about this in high school? Thank you in advance for your advice!

 

there's no reason for a report card; its purpose is for the teacher to inform the parents of their children's progress in school. Since you are the teacher, you already know this. :-)

 

At the high school level, you should make transcripts for your children, which can be done at the last minute if, say, your children decide out of the blue that they want to go back to school or that they're going to apply to college but which is much easier if you keep track as you go along. :-)

 

ETA: if you were to decide that homeschooling wasn't the best for your children and you re-enroll them below high school-level, then you would want to do some sort of report card, because the school would want to have some idea of how the children are doing academically; in fact, I recommend doing a standardized test before approaching the school in the first place, even if testing is not required of homeschoolers in your state, because what I just said. :-)

Edited January 9, 2017 by Ellie

[....]

I don't do a report card, but I do an end-of-year spreadsheet listing all of their books that they read, curriculum used (if any), field trips, projects, volunteer work, etc.  I record everything.  I have been grading only two subjects for high school: math and Latin - so I will put those grades in there. 

[Loowit]

I only keep track of grades for my high schooler and even then she doesn't see them unless she asks.  I mostly keep track of her progress for my own information and to show to DH if he is wondering about how she is doing.  This year I haven't even really done that.  I just write a few notes on her weekly assignment sheet about areas she needs to be working on and I keep them in a binder.  I does make things interesting when her friends talk about GPA and she wants to know what hers is.  The boys don't really care and I won't do much tracking until they are older.  I care more that they are mastering the lessons than a letter grade, but I do want some information for making a high school transcript.

[JanetC]

I kept a transcript document in Word for high school when we got to that age. Never did annual report cards.

[home4good_1405]

Thank you so much for all your wonderful advice ladies! I truly appreciate it. Since coming out of public school my girls have transitioned pretty well trying to get out of the brick and mortar mindset. They still ask about report cards and I haven't done them. I figured there interest in it would pass with time :) I don't plan on ever doing them through elementary or middle school grades, and in high school only if necessary. I just wanted to see what the consensus was with you veteran homeschoolers. You are a wealth of information! I appreciate it!

[home4good_1405]

Thank you so much for all your wonderful advice ladies! I truly appreciate it. Since coming out of public school my girls have transitioned pretty well trying to get out of the brick and mortar mindset. They still ask about report cards and I haven't done them. I figured there interest in it would pass with time :) I don't plan on ever doing them through elementary or middle school grades, and in high school only if necessary. I just wanted to see what the consensus was with you veteran homeschoolers. You are a wealth of information! I appreciate it!

[Dmmetler]

DD wanted a report card for the freebies. So, since I have to report progress to our cover school anyway, I print that. So far, she has had no trouble getting the free $5 game card at the pizza place or the donut at Krispy Kreme :).