Grades/transcripts after rough year

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

My DD just finished 9th grade. I need to put together her transcript for this year but basically nothing went as planned and I’m not sure how to go about it. I’ve been dealing with one crisis after the next since December and wasn’t able to stay on top of things like I needed too. My DD was on her own much more than I would have liked and very little of her work was graded. Several subjects weren’t finished and/or only the reading done. We are taking the summer off. I have never taken a whole summer off, but, after what our family has been through, we desperately need the break. How would you go about making a transcript and assigning grades for this? I’m concerned that some of what she did won’t be enough to “count” for the full credit I had planned. I wish I could have managed her first year of high school better but this was the best I could do given the circumstances. 

Here’s what she did: 

Math - We used SM Dimensions for Pre-Algebra/Algebra. We also made it a couple of units into MUS Algebra 1. (Math is not her best subject.) I didn’t “grade” anything but we would go over any mistakes together and make corrections. We didn’t move on until she understood the topic. 

History - Notgrass Exploring America. I’d say she made it about 3/4 through this. She was doing the projects until late winter and then just reading and answering the review questions. Some discussions with DH. Nothing graded. 

Science - History of Science by Joy Hakim. All 3 books were read. At the beginning of the year she was doing extra projects to go along with each chapter (research, writing assignments, experiments, etc), but by late winter was only reading. Again, no grades.

English - This was a mix of things. She got about halfway through WWS 1. I went over many, but not all assignments with her and discussed. Analytical Grammar. We did part of season 1, corrections made together. About half of the literature from Exploring America (mostly the novels). 

Language - She took an ASL class with friends, taught by on of the friends’ grandmother (a former teacher. Class was several hours a week plus practice time but not graded. 

Elective - Apologia Health and Nutrition. She went through the whole book, did most of the projects, all Study Guides, some tests. 

[freesia]

Hugs for making it through a tough year.  I’m sure you are exhausted.

what I would do is:

Math:call it Algebra 1A. Next year would be Algebra 1 B.  If it was taught to mastery give her an A.

I would probably call the other classes good.  Not every year in school with every teacher is super productive.  I can’t tell you what grade she should get either, but would go with my gut for this one year.

Health usually is a half credit, so I would consider having her do some kind of physical activity for another half credit this summer (PE).

[BusyMom5]

Go back through the written work and grade all bigger assignments and see what all you have.  I often grade only once a quarter, and I just go through the work and start assigning points, trying to be consistent with output.  

For the history, I'd say it's complete- add up points for written work and assign occasional points for discussion.  I'm not sure how to do the Story of Science, since I consider it to be history rather than science, especially without the labs.  English- sounds like the lit and grammar portions are okay, but writing was lacking.   You could possibly complete this credit next year, and start your 10th grade stuff a few months last.

For math, did you do tests?  If so, take those and make that 75% of her grade, for the other 25% give her completion points.  I would call the either PreAl or Algebra A, and complete algebra 1 next year.  

Sounds like ASL is one credit, I'd give her an A.  I'm not sure if that health is 1 credit or .5 credit, but either way I'd add up written work and assign a grade.

I hope next year is a better year for you!  I'm the worst grader when it comes to written work.  Math or science stuff, I stay on top of, but the writing assignments take so much longer!  Just start at the beginning with a notebook and record each assignment you grade.  I know it will take a few days,  but that's the best way to figure her grades. 

 

[Arcadia]

*Hugs*

My DS14’s 9th grade year is a total disaster. We are making up some in summer and have to kind of double up for 10th grade. His transcript is by subject instead of by year so it looks less disastrous.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

42 minutes ago, freesia said:

Hugs for making it through a tough year.  I’m sure you are exhausted.

what I would do is:

Math:call it Algebra 1A. Next year would be Algebra 1 B.  If it was taught to mastery give her an A.

I would probably call the other classes good.  Not every year in school with every teacher is super productive.  I can’t tell you what grade she should get either, but would go with my gut for this one year.

Health usually is a half credit, so I would consider having her do some kind of physical activity for another half credit this summer (PE).

Yes! Exhausted! And now overwhelmed trying to figure out how to put this school ear on paper. Math was taught to mastery. There were a few tests too (that she did well on, thankfully) so that grade is easy. 

21 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

Go back through the written work and grade all bigger assignments and see what all you have.  I often grade only once a quarter, and I just go through the work and start assigning points, trying to be consistent with output.  

For the history, I'd say it's complete- add up points for written work and assign occasional points for discussion.  I'm not sure how to do the Story of Science, since I consider it to be history rather than science, especially without the labs.  English- sounds like the lit and grammar portions are okay, but writing was lacking.   You could possibly complete this credit next year, and start your 10th grade stuff a few months last.

For math, did you do tests?  If so, take those and make that 75% of her grade, for the other 25% give her completion points.  I would call the either PreAl or Algebra A, and complete algebra 1 next year.  

Sounds like ASL is one credit, I'd give her an A.  I'm not sure if that health is 1 credit or .5 credit, but either way I'd add up written work and assign a grade.

I hope next year is a better year for you!  I'm the worst grader when it comes to written work.  Math or science stuff, I stay on top of, but the writing assignments take so much longer!  Just start at the beginning with a notebook and record each assignment you grade.  I know it will take a few days,  but that's the best way to figure her grades. 

 

Using the Story of Science was a bit outside the box already. This DD really doesn’t like science so I was trying to get some in in a more palatable way. Plus the Health and Nutrition was pretty science-y for her and I didn’t want her to completely balk at the amount of science she had each day. Anyway, I was going to bump up the “science” side of the books with projects, demonstrations, experiments...but...life, and way too much of it at once. 

I’ll see what I have for other written work and maybe I can come up with grades of some sort. 

10 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

*Hugs*

My DS14’s 9th grade year is a total disaster. We are making up some in summer and have to kind of double up for 10th grade. His transcript is by subject instead of by year so it looks less disastrous.

*Hugs* to you too. 

A transcript by subject is a good idea. If I add bits here and there I can maybe make up some of what we missed this year. We could do three more years of science and maybe move the Story of Science over to History. It won’t be a strong Science transcript but she’s not a STEM kid anyway. She’s all art and music. 

Circumstances are improving but still not great so we’re changing things up to hopefully help us stay on track better next year. 

[MerryAtHope]

2 hours ago, freesia said:

Hugs for making it through a tough year.  I’m sure you are exhausted.

what I would do is:

Math:call it Algebra 1A. Next year would be Algebra 1 B.  If it was taught to mastery give her an A.

I would probably call the other classes good.  Not every year in school with every teacher is super productive.  I can’t tell you what grade she should get either, but would go with my gut for this one year.

Health usually is a half credit, so I would consider having her do some kind of physical activity for another half credit this summer (PE).

 This is what I would do too. I wouldn’t try to carry things on into next year and think that you’ll finish up. I think that’s going to get too overwhelming and burdensome. I would just start fresh in the fall, think about the things that you didn’t do as much of this year such as writing or discussions or science labs, and make sure to focus on those things next year in her new classes . It’s not unusua even in a school to only get through 3/4 of a textbook, so I would just move on. 

[Arcadia]

2 hours ago, 2ndGenHomeschooler said:

A transcript by subject is a good idea. If I add bits here and there I can maybe make up some of what we missed this year. 

Circumstances are improving but still not great so we’re changing things up to hopefully help us stay on track better next year. 

 

My local community college accepted my transcript by subject for DS14’s dual enrollment application so that was nice. 

DS13 is not going for rigor at all for his upcoming 9th grade year so that helps me a lot. DS14 is going for less rigor so it would be less stressful for him and me. 

 

[MamaSprout]

I think you've got good advice so far. What does your daughter think of calling next year 9th grade? I don't know where her birthday falls, but it could be an option. Really start fresh. The ASL and probably health credits could come up with her to high school (at least in our state). If you're in an area where she could do a lot of dual enrollment, the extra year of high school is a cost savings.

Edited June 23, 2019 by MamaSprout

[8filltheheart]

I'm sorry you had such a rough yr.  I hope this summer rejuvenates you and allows all of you to regroup in a positive way.

Before I make any comment on what your Dd did, I want to share that homeschooling does not need to replicate ps. Courses do not need to be this book followed by this test given this grade bc x amt of information was output correctly on the test. It can be if that is the way the family wants their homeschool to operate, but it doesn't have to. Your repeated comments about nothing graded just made me want to highlight that pt. My kids rarely receive grades on work bc that is not how we function unless I have a student who is not putting effort into learning. Most of the time my kids want to learn what they are studying and we focus on learning for learning, not a grade. Mastering material deeply is the goal but tests are just not part of the process and grades are not the focus.

I know you said you are taking the summer off, but you could consider having your Dd do a few non-stressful things this summer to round out her credits. They could be simple things she can enjoy doing. She could watch some documentaries, read some novels she might enjoy., listen to audiobooks while building puzzles, walking, swinging on a hammock, etc. It doesn't have to be "school time" but greater exposure more than anything else might make you feel better about what she covered.

FWIW, the only way I have been able to stay on track during difficult yrs is to have lesson plans that have to be completed each week. Staying on track during high school can be extremely tough during crises. Life can take over and flip things on its head. But, unless it is the student who is in crisis (I have had high schoolers so sick that they couldn't do any school work for weeks), I try to keep my high schoolers focused enough to keep working through their material or spread content out so that the odd subject carries over into the summer when they can be my sole focus academically.

Best wishes for a better 19/20 school yr.

 

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

1 hour ago, MamaSprout said:

I think you've got good advice so far. What does your daughter think of calling next year 9th grade? I don't know where her birthday falls, but it could be an option. Really start fresh. The ASL and probably health credits could come up with her to high school (at least in our state). If you're in an area where she could do a lot of dual enrollment, the extra year of high school is a cost savings.

I mentioned calling next year 9th grade but she hated that idea. Her birthday is in June so she could still graduate before she turns 19. But, this is my child that hates anything I call school so she is looking forward to being done as soon as possible. Also, almost all of her friends are older than she is and adding a year would put her even further “behind” them. 

[freesia]

I was just coming back to post part of what 8 said.  After watching my friend manage a crises year, I’ve made syllabi for my dc who are in high school.  That way they can just do the next thing and I wouldn’t have to put any energy into figuring it out.  It’s been so helpful in many ways. (I also make a list of non-teacher intensive ways to handle my other kid’s work so I wouldn’t have to think.) Anyhow, you might want to consider that if any part of your crises may be on going next year.

Make sure, though, to plan fun things for you this summer. And lots of rest.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

53 minutes ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

I'm sorry you had such a rough yr.  I hope this summer rejuvenates you and allows all of you to regroup in a positive way.

Before I make any comment on what your Dd did, I want to share that homeschooling does not need to replicate ps. Courses do not need to be this book followed by this test given this grade bc x amt of information was output correctly on the test. It can be if that is the way the family wants their homeschool to operate, but it doesn't have to. Your repeated comments about nothing graded just made me want to highlight that pt. My kids rarely receive grades on work bc that is not how we function unless I have a student who is not putting effort into learning. Most of the time my kids want to learn what they are studying and we focus on learning for learning, not a grade. Mastering material deeply is the goal but tests are just not part of the process and grades are not the focus.

I know you said you are taking the summer off, but you could consider having your Dd do a few non-stressful things this summer to round out her credits. They could be simple things she can enjoy doing. She could watch some documentaries, read some novels she might enjoy., listen to audiobooks while building puzzles, walking, swinging on a hammock, etc. It doesn't have to be "school time" but greater exposure more than anything else might make you feel better about what she covered.

FWIW, the only way I have been able to stay on track during difficult yrs is to have lesson plans that have to be completed each week. Staying on track during high school can be extremely tough during crises. Life can take over and flip things on its head. But, unless it is the student who is in crisis (I have had high schoolers so sick that they couldn't do any school work for weeks), I try to keep my high schoolers focused enough to keep working through their material or spread content out so that the odd subject carries over into the summer when they can be my sole focus academically.

Best wishes for a better 19/20 school yr.

 

Thank you for this. The reminder that our home school doesn’t have to look like traditional school is helpful. I was home schooled myself but too “outside the box” in my opinion. It can be hard to find the balance between the flexibility home schooling provides and still making sure education happens. 

If you don’t grade your students’ work, what do you put on the transcript? I feel like making a transcript should be easier than I’m making it out to be but my parents didn’t do them for the oldest 5 of us so I really don’t know what I’m doing. 

I’ve tried to plan school around DD’s interests - reading, art, and music - but once I make it “school” she doesn’t like it. Left to herself, she will kind of “wander” through the day - play the piano a little, read for a while, wander around outside and check on what’s blooming or how big the tadpoles in the pond are, then work on a craft project for a while, watch a little TV or play a game on the tablet, do some of the previous things again...This is how she would prefer to be. She isn’t particularly driven, just likes to do whatever pops into her head in the moment. 

I have set some boundaries this summer around reading and screen use just as a way to encourage other pursuits. The reading one is basically non-fiction or fiction from a provided booklist only until 3pm. No screens until after dinner. I have found her reading about music and art, some biographies, and literature from the list so that’s good. 

I’m working on having better lesson plans for next year so that she can see exactly what needs to be done each week and so that DH can help supervise her more easily. (Using some material that is already planned and taking the time this summer to fully plan the rest.) She is old enough to understand the circumstances we’re in and their effects on me. She did step up this past year and at least try to keep up with things on her own but by the time she realized she needed to take more responsibility for her own work she was already behind and that was overwhelming to her. Especially with only a rough plan to follow. I’m hoping to have her more set up for success next year in case I’m still not able to be as “present” as I would like. 

[8filltheheart]

My kids don't get to decide what they do every day. They have lesson plans that they have to follow based on what I expect them to do. They get to help design their courses, but expectations and daily work are assigned by me.

I spend quite a bit of time discussing things with them. I assign topics for additional research and they have to write papers on those topics.  Their transcript grades are based on mastery.

Fwiw, based on their academic performance in college, our non-test/grade focused approach works for our family. They have all been honors students with GPAs ranging from 3.6 (or .7....don't remember anymore) to 4.0. 

[almondbutterandjelly]

Here's what I would do:

Pre-Algebra (or Intro to Algebra), 1.0 credit, Grade: A

U.S. History, 1.0 credit, Grade: A

English 9 or English I, 1.0 credit, Grade: A

American Sign Language, 1.0 credit, Grade: A

Health, .5 credit, Grade: A

I don't know about the science. 

[Arcadia]

I won’t worry about the lack of science in 9th grade. It’s possible to double up by taking two lab sciences in a year through dual enrollment later. Also environmental science, marine science, ornithology and astronomy are some of the sciences which are easier to do in an informal manner so depending on her interest, it would be possible to award her a science credit for work done over summer.

[theelfqueen]

On the topic of history -- As a former high school history teacher... It's not common that a student does every single page/chapter/topic in a textbook in a year. If you feel that her work was enough...Call it done.  If you feel she needs to bump it up -- go to your nearby streaming service and find some history documentaries to bulk it up over the summer (one good Ken Burns documentary adds a ton! choose topics she does find interesting -- Modern American Music, The Civil War, Prohibition, whatever.. my kids would strongly recommend the American Experience episode about the Panama Canal, they loved that one ...and the Prohibition series by Ken Burns... and every imaginable thing about the history of the Space Program), discuss but don't necessarily assign output. If you want output - it doesn't have to be worksheets, chapter questions or papers -- come up with something else, or there's probably worksheets out there for most of them with a bit of google-fu.

If you want to cover sections of history she didn't get to, consider Crash Course American History on Youtube. They also have a History of Science series that you could use to flesh out the Hakim books if you feel she didn't do enough for a credit there.

I'd probably give her two history credits (one for American History and one for History of Science). Or maybe even one for American History -- and then half a credit for History of Science as History, and the other half a credit as Science with a course description focused on theoretical understanding of science, scientific method, scientific theory, technology and practice in the historical context - and break out the specific topics that are a focus of the Hakim books. And then I'd just start fresh on science in the Fall.  Plenty of people combine history and literature then break out the credits, you could break out the credits here. My Middle son did the Big History Project in High School -- science and history all kinds of mixed up.

Most colleges don't require 4 years of high school science. And again, as a homeschooler - your program can be tailored to fit your kid. You can stick with or ditch the "Biology, Chemistry, Physics - straight from a text" approach. Or you can tweak those -- Do Biology but focus more on botany, or ecology, or ornithology, or marine environments. Make sure you cover the Microbiology stuff -- cell structures and functions, chemistry of life, etc... but then put your in-depth on something she and you are interested in.  Or you can choose other sciences that are more of interest, this may or may not open doors to colleges but it also may open your kids' mind and heart to real in depth interest in scientific topics. Or you can add some DE/college science down the road. Or some combination of all of those.  Or look at something like Guest Hollow that takes a different approach to those topics.

As a homeschool mom -- I don't grade that much. I check to see what I assigned was done (by reviewing the written output or discussing the reading/other input - video, lecture, etc. sometimes there's projects.) I used to grade more, but I concluded that most of the "Easy to grade" stuff was busy work.  I may mark up math or for grammar and return it to the kid for corrections, or I may just talk through the corrections and make sure they understand why they made a mistake. It's pretty much all to mastery. If my kid's "grade" is marked down, it's most likely for effort... ie. kid was a pain in the butt about assigned work so consistently that it became a hassle for me LOL usually not for not understanding the material. If they don't understand the material we don't move on. We had to provide a "Report Card" for a karate thing recently, I was pretty annoyed by it. What a hassle. One of the other moms was pretty shocked to hear me complain about it to another of the homeschool families. I don't need a "Report" about my kids progress -- I as a parent and as their educator know what my kids progress looks like.