For those that give number or letter grades

[Karenciavo]

I always have my children correct their mistakes and unless the concept was totally misunderstood, resulting in a failing grade, I don't change the grade. If they totally missed the concept I have them do the work over and I split the difference of the two grades, for example 1st attempt results in 53%, 2nd attempt results in 97%, final grade is 75%. This is the system that was used at my public high school. Well, I've come to realize no one I know does this. Those that grade give the higher mark and think I'm doing my ds15 a disservice.

 

What do you think?

[Michelle in MO]

I always have my children correct their mistakes and unless the concept was totally misunderstood, resulting in a failing grade, I don't change the grade. If they totally missed the concept I have them do the work over and I split the difference of the two grades, for example 1st attempt results in 53%, 2nd attempt results in 97%, final grade is 75%. This is the system that was used at my public high school. Well, I've come to realize no one I know does this. Those that grade give the higher mark and think I'm doing my ds15 a disservice.

 

What do you think?

 

but I didn't split the difference between the grades.

 

I had to pull together a transcript for my girls, and here is how I generally issued grades:

 

Generally speaking, I let the grade that I assigned them stand as is. Sometimes, though, there were extenuating circumstances. If they failed something because they didn't understand a concept, and I didn't help them understand the concept, I gave them another chance and gave them the better grade.

 

If they cheated, it was an automatic "F", with no second chances. The only time I changed this was when one of mine "borrowed" the student solutions manual for algebra. She had to re-do four chapters of work, and chose to do double lessons to make up for lost time. She never cheated again.

 

If they did poorly on a test because of laziness or failure to study, the grade they received was the grade that they earned.

 

I actually really like your idea of taking the two grades and averaging them together. I can understand your worry about whether or not you're doing your kids a disservice. On the one hand, for high-school level work, that does become part of their permanent record, so you do want their grades to be the best possible. On the other hand, some (not all) homeschoolers tend to artificially inflate grades. If this is happening, then I think that would be doing the child a disservice, because the child will find that teachers in other settings grade differently sometimes than mom or dad.

 

I personally would recommend that you continue to do what you're doing, and continue to encourage and challenge them to do their best.

 

When I made up transcripts for my three girls, who are enrolled in a private school this year, they generally earned some A's and some B's. I gave my oldest a GPA of 3.5; she got A's at home in most other subjects, but struggled with some like math and Latin, which brought her GPA down; in math she received more B's, and in Latin I gave both her and her sister a B-minus. When I've read their progress reports so far this year, I think I actually gave fairly accurate grades. My oldest is now closer to a 3.8, but was at about a 3.5; my middle daughter was closer to a 3.8 at first, but is now a little lower. I guess my goal was to try to set realistic grades which reflected their actual progress. I also wanted them to have a realistic sense of where they were at, academically speaking, compared to other kids. For the most part, I think I succeeded in that regard.

[Nicole M]

I would second that you're not doing your children a disservice. I have a friend who is an admissions counselor in Chicago, and he wrote me just yesterday, after I'd panicked about the homeschool section of the common application. Here's what he said:

 

"Don't fret about not assigning grades - the kid I was reading today had no grades assigned. Mom just explained that she didn't assign grades and rather evaluated via conversation and written evaluation to determine whether or not she was ready for the next level. One mom once even went so far as to say "what homeschooled student doesn't have straight A's?" but you have to be kind of gutsy to do that. We just laughed."

 

I guess his (and my) point is that straight As are going to be somewhat suspect, even if they are genuinely earned, if they're "mommy grades" -- which is why standardized test scores are so important. I think you're actually doing your children a favor by using this system.

 

And I like your system. In my public high school, and even in the very fancy private high school I went to, there was no looking back, not even for missed concepts, no making up anything.

[Karenciavo]

Thank you both for your comments.

 

Generally speaking, I let the grade that I assigned them stand as is. Sometimes, though, there were extenuating circumstances. If they failed something because they didn't understand a concept, and I didn't help them understand the concept, I gave them another chance and gave them the better grade.

 

I generally only do my grade averaging in classes my son does independently (Chalkdust Geometry, BJUP Biology) and I feel like since I've not done anything up to that point to help them understand a concept (and they didn't ask) that averaging is fair. This doesn't happen often, but my son's geometry grade is around 90% because of it. The only other options are that it would be lower, in the 80's somewhere, if I didn't add in the do-over or in the high 90's if I just went with the do-over grade.

[outtamyshell]

I have struggled with this as well. I have found some public school teachers who grade like you do. And I've run into public school teachers that just take the higher grade.

 

I really was torn on how to handle grades. The teacher in me is one tough grader. But the Mom in me wants the kid to get As. I want DD to master the material, and work hard. And I figure if she's done both, then she should get an A. DDs ACT score justifies pretty good grades, and she is competing for admission and scholarships with grade inflated public schools. But what's the correct/honest thing to do?

 

I did manage to give DD mostly As last year - and I did the grade averaging that you did when I allowed any second attempts at all.

 

But I had an interesting conversation with the college my dd wants to apply to. They completely ignore non-accredited grades. So they will recalculate her GPA based on the grades she earned in her public school (9th grade) and college courses (10th & 11th grade). So my grades are meaningless anyway.

[Tammyla]

I average the two together, same as you.

[Nan in Mass]

He had some cc classes and SAT scores, also. The college appeared to mostly be interested in the cc classes. Another college we spoke to also didn't think an ungraded transcript would be a problem; they wanted to see SAT scores, and when I said I didn't think my son would do well on them, they suggested cc classes.

 

I didn't assign grades because I felt they would be as much a reflection of my ability as a grader/teacher as my son's ability as a student. And I sort of felt like nobody would believe them, anyway... Your post confirms my fears. It isn't that I don't think lots of the homeschooling community is perfectly trustworthy - I just am not sure I believe that colleges believe them to be. Sigh.

 

-Nan

[Karenciavo]

He had some cc classes and SAT scores, also. The college appeared to mostly be interested in the cc classes. Another college we spoke to also didn't think an ungraded transcript would be a problem; they wanted to see SAT scores, and when I said I didn't think my son would do well on them, they suggested cc classes.

 

Ds15 will at least take the SAT II for biology and the SAT, along with some CC credits. M. Somerville from TOG suggests P/F transcript, but I was never really comfortable with it. I think I need to cozy up to it and embrace it. :D Especially since our literature and history contain a lot of Socratic dialog.

[The Governess]

I took microeconomics in college and our professor told us that the average grade for her class was a D (yikes!!). She also had a policy that if someone got an A on her final exam, they got an A in the class, no matter what grades were earned on their other work. A few of the kids in the class failed the midterm, studied like mad the rest of the semester, and got an A on the cumulative final. I thought it was a great concept.

[Michelle in MO]

I guess his (and my) point is that straight As are going to be somewhat suspect, even if they are genuinely earned, if they're "mommy grades" -- which is why standardized test scores are so important. I think you're actually doing your children a favor by using this system.

 

And I like your system. In my public high school, and even in the very fancy private high school I went to, there was no looking back, not even for missed concepts, no making up anything.

 

I think colleges will tend to look more at standardized test scores for homeschoolers than anything else. Although we're not homeschooling now, we did homeschool for seven years, and I tried to use integrity in assigning grades. Looking back, I'm glad that I didn't inflate their grades. For the most part, the girls' grades at school reflect how they did at home.

 

The fact that you're doing SAT-II's and will probably do the SAT (and possibly ACT, although that may not be as common in your area) will be a big bonus to whatever grades you assign on your transcript.

 

One of the things we've discovered since the girls have been in a private school is that even in some of the better schools (this was the best we could find in our more rural area) cheating is rampant! If you've worked hard with your kids, which I know you do, their PSAT, SAT, and ACT scores will give added weight to any grades you assign. My girls have told me of several incidents in which other students have cheated, and some of them are very inventive. My oldest has to take essay tests for her dual-enrollment US History class. One boy simply had a "cheat sheet" of essay answers that he surreptitiously pulled out and looked at, and he was praised by the teacher as being the "only one" who got a certain answer correct on an essay test! My oldest tells me that other kids in her class do this as well.

 

My middle daughter told me that one student in her biology class uses his calculator to type in the answers to certain questions before the test (I think it's a TI-83 Plus Silver Edition calculator that most of the students have, and it has a mode which you can use to type letters instead of numerals.) Since it's biology, he's allowed to use his calculator. He simply turns it on during the test, and---voila!---there are some key words or phrases he needs to remember, and the teacher never knows the difference!

 

The sad thing is that cheating hurts everyone, including the kids who are cheating.

 

The plus side of this is that I have worked very hard to try to impress upon my girls the disastrous side effects of cheating and not doing your own work---which is why I failed them, or made the one child re-do months' worth of algebra work. It pains me to admit that all three of my girls cheated at some point in time, but they did---and I came down on that hard.

 

But---here's the payoff: while many of the other kids in the classes that my oldest is taking are making A's and B's like she is, I believe she may have received the highest or definitely one of the highest PSAT scores in her class. It's certainly possible to cheat during the PSAT, SAT, and ACT, but the testing requirements are more stringent and these methods have helped to eliminate cheating. Many of these "A" and "B" students scored in the 50th to 70th percentiles on their PSAT's. Those are not scores to be ashamed of, but the sad thing is that these kids are misled into believing that they're doing better than they really are doing. So, when they take a standardized test, under strict conditions, they find out where they're really "at" and that they don't know what they thought they knew.

 

I think you're doing a great job, Karen, and my personal hope is that colleges will see the fact that we tried to assign grades with integrity and challenged our kids to the best of our abilities. I think the standardized test scores will reinforce those grades.

[Laura K (NC)]

I had to do that earlier in the year for my high school son. For my boys who aren't in high school, I don't worry about the failing grade too much, grade-wise, and just work on mastery with review, and leave the grade as-is.

 

There was one time where I don't think I prepared my son well enough for a test. The mistake was mine, and he bombed it. I threw out that test completely. Another time, I wrote a test for history and I was prepared to make adjustments to the grade in case some of the questions I had written were unclear or unfair. He did fine (made a 91), so I made no adjustments.

 

Averaging scores is good, I think, because it allows the real consequences for failure, and it also allows the opportunity for (subsequent) mastery. Since my son is still fairly young, learning how to study and work hard for a good grade is one of the main things he's accomplishing this year. This is a different approach than in his middle school years, when I mainly wanted to expose him to as much good stuff as possible and have him enjoy it.

[Moni]

What do you think?

 

We work to mastery and then they earn an "A."

 

Test scores will clarify everything.

A low GPA with high test scores will show a more accurate picture.

A high GPA with low test scores will show a more accurate picture.

[Michelle in MO]

Test scores will clarify everything.

A low GPA with high test scores will show a more accurate picture.

A high GPA with low test scores will show a more accurate picture.

 

I'm not quite sure about the latter statement, specifically. How would a high GPA with low test scores show a more accurate picture? Wouldn't it show that perhaps the student's grades were somewhat inflated?

 

Not trying to argue with you; I'm just trying to understand this statement.

[mamaof2andtwins]

In our house a child must score at least an 80% to move on. If they score over an 80, I just take the grade. If they score under an 80%, then we retake the test or take an alternate test after going through the material until there is complete understanding.

 

My understand is that number grades are important for scholarships. However, I am not quite to that point. I have been told this by moms of ps children who have BTDT. One mom told me that a child really needs a 95% or even a 97% to be considered for academic scholarships. I don't know if that is true or not. I haven't checked this out yet with my friend who is an admissions counselor.

 

When I was teaching I would allow my students to make corrections to their tests. If they did I added 5 points to their test grade.

 

Jennie

[74Heaven]

my students accept the grade adn then correct the test by themselves. If they have really bombed it (say 75% or less) I will let them correct the test and earn back "half" the points. So 75% on the Test and 90% on the retake adds only 7.5 points to their final grade (75+7.5 = 83%). I consider that "grace" and incentive to bring up their grade and restudy the material.

 

One thing I will do is (ahead of time I let them know); give the students 1/2 points for memorizing and writing out biology or chemistry vocabulary definitions at the test time. They have to be really close to word-perfect to get the credit tho. I will take the vocab list and basically make the whole list worth 5-7 points, so if the vocab list is very lengthy, they may only get 1/4 of a pt per word.

 

There is *no* way I would give them the second higher grade as their final grade - what on earth is the purpose of the first test if they can retake a test and get a higher grade? (Even a revised test - that doesn't seem fair to me. It makes the first test more of a "practice" test.)

 

I feel like maybe I am missing some part or understanding of this thread because why would teachers or parents give the second (basically retake) grade of the test as it isn't a true measure of the test performance when the test was given?

 

lisaj

[lionfamily1999]

So, this may be a stupid question, but I believe it fits in this thread... do you grade class/home work (still not sure what to call that). I had been planning to do review tests at the end of the week and a quick q&a Monday mornings, to make sure he's retaining information. I just figured the Friday test grades would be his grades. Did I miss something completely? Is this not how you do this?

Arg...

[Karenciavo]

my students accept the grade adn then correct the test by themselves. If they have really bombed it (say 75% or less) I will let them correct the test and earn back "half" the points. So 75% on the Test and 90% on the retake adds only 7.5 points to their final grade (75+7.5 = 83%). I consider that "grace" and incentive to bring up their grade and restudy the material.

 

This is what I do and it is averaging the grade ( 75 + 90/2 = 82.5%)

[Karenciavo]

So, this may be a stupid question, but I believe it fits in this thread... do you grade class/home work (still not sure what to call that). I had been planning to do review tests at the end of the week and a quick q&a Monday mornings, to make sure he's retaining information. I just figured the Friday test grades would be his grades. Did I miss something completely? Is this not how you do this?

Arg...

 

I grade everything that can be graded.

[angela in ohio]

My dc get what they get. No grades are changed.

 

They correct the work if they missed a lot of one type or if they need the lesson in being more diligent (that actually usually results in re-copying *several* times of the missed problems.) If it was a few minor careless errors from an otherwise carfeful child, I don't require correction.

[74Heaven]

Yes, of course it is "averaging" - I don't know why I was calling it something else. <g> but I don't usually allow it unless they get a C-, D or F on a test.

 

Lisaj, who shouldn't post on 5 hrs sleep

Edited December 11, 2008 by 74Heaven
error

[mamaof2andtwins]

So, this may be a stupid question, but I believe it fits in this thread... do you grade class/home work (still not sure what to call that). I had been planning to do review tests at the end of the week and a quick q&a Monday mornings, to make sure he's retaining information. I just figured the Friday test grades would be his grades. Did I miss something completely? Is this not how you do this?

Arg...

 

 

I used to grade everything (in math particularly), but it gave me a great headache, and I was always behind in the grading. This year I have decided to just grade tests and quizzes. That gives me about one grade per week per the major subjects for most of the children.

 

Jennie

[Lizzie in Ma]

In our house a child must score at least an 80% to move on. If they score over an 80, I just take the grade. If they score under an 80%, then we retake the test or take an alternate test after going through the material until there is complete understanding.

Jennie

 

I recognized the system right off. :D

 

To answer Karen's question, the courses we do not use CLE in, mostly middle school now, I do grade as you are doing.

A couple of things are easy to grade as they are totally straightforward like our BJU Life Science.

Like you, we use things more difficult to grade due to the Socratic method. Art of Argument, for example, and hey, how are you grading that anyway?

I think the thought that that our grades will be suspect no matter what are valid to some degree, but I want my kids to have a realistic assessment of their work. I am a strict grader and it is hard sometimes but I feel that it is important.

[Gwen in VA]

Just to throw another grading paradigm out there --

 

i have no idea how to "grade" my kids' work, especially in subjects like history and English. Maybe my standards are ridiculously high -- and the fact that they are getting a 'C' reflects more on my demanding work than on my kids' failure to perform up to spec. Or maybe my standards are ridiculously low -- and any sentient being could get an 'A' in my classes without blinking an eye.

 

in my high school NO ONE ( including all the kids who went to Harvard and MIT) received straight A's. So I tend to grade my kids pretty harshly -- an 'A' in my book is a grade that indicates not merely doing the work well but far surpassing expectations.

 

But then I found out that any student worth his salt in our local public schools gets all A's. A 4.0 GPA is standard around here for good (not super-outstanding) students. I don't want to hurt my kids by giving lower grades than they would receive if they went to school -- so what to do?

 

While we do assign grades at the end of a course, they are subject to retroactive revision based on outside grades in a closely related subject or based on SAT2 scores. (Translation -- kid gets B's from me in English, but goes on to get all A's in online English classes and does outstandingly on the verbal and written portions of the SAT and the Lit SAT2. I up my grade to an A based on the idea that my grading system is not synchronized with the expectations of the rest of the world.)

 

I have only alter two grades this way, and both of them went up. But I did end up feeling like the grades on the transcript at least represented the level of achievement that the outside grades and tests seemed to indicate.

[Mad Jenny Flint]

I think it is reasonable to allow for a "really bad day" and let some points be made up on a re-take by averaging. Other grades stand. Outside testing and classes will complete the picture. I do not plan to change grades once they are assigned because I figure that anyone assessing the whole picture will do so based on their own biases, anyway... and that they can read.

[Laura K (NC)]

I think checking all the student's work is a major advantage of homeschool over a classroom situation. This is where the one-on-one tutoring of homeschooling makes all the difference academically. As far as our family is concerned, though, daily work is the process of learning, and the test results (and finished papers) are the, um, result of learning. Everything incorrect in the daily lesson will be redone until it's correct and understood. Now, the discipline of memorization doesn't often get tested in daily work, so that's why tests are also necessary (IMO). And all my kids' papers longer than 1 single-spaced page are graded.

[lionfamily1999]

I grade everything that can be graded.

Even for your 6-y-o? Andrew is seven, so most of his work is done with me right there.... I guess this is one of those things that everyone does different though....

 

TWTM did not say much about grades at the grammar level.

[lionfamily1999]

I used to grade everything (in math particularly), but it gave me a great headache, and I was always behind in the grading. This year I have decided to just grade tests and quizzes. That gives me about one grade per week per the major subjects for most of the children.

 

Jennie

Oooookay. That was my plan, one grade a week based on review tests....

 

Still adjusting to so much room for preference....

[Jean in Wisc]

But I don't let one bad grade change the total grade. If a child has a solid A- and that low score brings it down to a B, I have a hard time giving him a B. That is when I add in the fact he did his homework every day and that he got his work done on time...and decide what grade really reflects his knowledge, ability, and overall work in that class.

 

Jean

[Karenciavo]

Even for your 6-y-o? Andrew is seven, so most of his work is done with me right there.... I guess this is one of those things that everyone does different though....

 

TWTM did not say much about grades at the grammar level.

 

Oh no. I figured you meant in high school. My ds6 likes his math and spelling graded so I oblige him.

[lionfamily1999]

Oh, okay, that makes way more sense. By high school, I guess they're much more independant.

[cabdriver]

I always use the first grade- no matter what. They have to redo the test until they get over 90%. The first priority is that they learn the material, not the grade. That being said, in college they are not going to get multiple chances at the tests. I want them to prepare well and study for the first test, not just figure they'll get a second stab at it.

[dymphna57]

"If they have really bombed it (say 75% or less) I will let them correct the test and earn back "half" the points. So 75% on the Test and 90% on the retake adds only 7.5 points to their final grade (75+7.5 = 83%). I consider that "grace" and incentive to bring up their grade and restudy the material."

 

I do this to encourage rewrites and extra studying of the material. I also figure if they can't get eighty percent of something right on a test given immediately after studying a subject they won't have the mastery to retain it or use it in the future.

 

I assign grades so that the highschoolers know that even though they are home schooled they are still part of the real world and the real world uses grades. If I made the grades too easy it would defeat the purpose. I try to not imitate the mistakes of public school with giving out too many A grades but a few sprinkled around really get them smiling and feeling good about their work. If it encourages more effort that is great but if I feel that a good grade made ds lay back and relax, I give him a wake up call with a low grade. Totally subjective but then again so it real life! I know plenty of teachers that just give the A students A's and the C students C's.

honest if not truthful.