Grading AoPS

[thewellerman]

I've read through some old threads on this topic, but was wondering how people are handling it lately.  Because AoPS doesn't have tests, and because is is expected that students will get problems incorrect as they work through them, how do you give a grade?  

Does mastery on Aleks work?  Another option?

 

My concern is that working through AoPS is definitely honors, but if the testing isn't also at the honors level, is it ethical to give them an A and still label it as an honors course?

[JennyD]

Well, in our house all incorrect AoPS problems  -- or any inadequate/incorrect work, for that matter --  gets redone.  (Gnashing of teeth and rending of garments is optional.)   Tests are to give feedback (to me and to them) and learn how to take tests. 

I firmly believe that the grades I give my kids for classes they do at home with me are completely meaningless.  I find it baffling that colleges actually want such grades, but they do, so I give As and have zero ethical concerns about it.   If they struggle, I reconfigure the class, change assignments, scaffold more, or whatever.  It's the beauty of individualized learning (and why I think grades make no sense.)

I haven't had a kid apply to college yet so I haven't given any thought to honors designations.  Like grades, that also seems absurd to me in a homeschool context, so I would just do whatever is most helpful -- and looks reasonable --  for college applications.  

 

[regentrude]

I have given my kids a comprehensive final at the end of the semester and based the grade on that. I wrote them based on AoPS problems.
I shared several of my exams here on the board for everybody; search the archives.

The practice problems are for practice. We rework them until correct. I see no point in punishing learners for making mistakes.
I gave the kids a pre-test before the final to verify level of preparation; if they weren't prepared, they had to review some more. There is no point in giving a low grade in math and moving on without mastery.

Edited October 18, 2021 by regentrude

[thewellerman]

Thank you!  We also work to mastery, but I was under the impression that I had to explain how I calculated their grade, and thought some sort of testing would be needed.  

Thank you for the test links.  I did find that before, but I couldn't get them to open.  I just found the thread again, and I still can't.  Maybe it is because I am a new poster?

[thewellerman]

I meant to add the link:

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/447321-does-aops-have-tests/?tab=comments

[regentrude]

17 hours ago, thewellerman said:

Thank you!  We also work to mastery, but I was under the impression that I had to explain how I calculated their grade, and thought some sort of testing would be needed.  

Thank you for the test links.  I did find that before, but I couldn't get them to open.  I just found the thread again, and I still can't.  Maybe it is because I am a new poster?

No, won't work for me either. Contact the help desk and ask them, I have no clue. they were uploaded as pdf files, and a whole bunch of folks were able to download them.

I explain in the course description: "grade based on comprehensive final".

[TheAttachedMama]

I am self-teaching Honors Geometry using the AOPS textbook.   I've taken enough AOPS classes to feel comfortable in my grading approach.  I personally like to lay out expectations and a grading method in advance.  It helps me stay objective and avoid grade inflation.   And it also lets me son know what is expected of him.   We teach until mastery, but here is how the grade is calculated in our house. 

Participation 5%-  

I have my son read a topic and work through all of the problems in the book in a notepad.  He then self checks and brings them to me to see that he did it.  (This is his participation grade, which I am saying is 5% of his grade.)

Alcumus Homework 40% 

A large portion of his grade is based on Alcumus.   If he gets in the blue (mastery) for the topic, he gets a 95-100%,  If he gets in the green (passing) for the topic, he gets 80-94%, and theoretically, if he gets into the yellow, he gets 70-79%.  (But I honestly don't accept yellow, and I encourage him to keep working and learning before moving on.).  (The range is based on effort, how many problems he solved, and his overall percentage.). 

ETA:  This Alcumus grade is calculated at the end of the year.  This is because you can previously MASTER a topic in Alcumus (go blue), but then "un-master" it if you miss some review problems later on in the year. This is another reason I really like Alcumus as opposed to just working through the book--it forces the student to review more often and teaches to true mastery.  (Speaking from personal experience, sometimes I think I have a concept mastered, but it is just floating around in my short term memory.  The only way to make sure the concept is sold is with a lot of repeated practice. lol).  It also reviews concepts from previously worked through AOPS courses (number theory, etc. Number theory is my son's favorite "type" of math, so he thinks of those as fun little bonus problems thrown in to keep his day interesting.).  Plus, Alcumus is adaptive.  If it finds a weakness, it will drill those specific types of problems more often.  🙂

Written Problems and Proofs 15%

I select one problem from either the book or alcumus, and have him write one written solution.  

Tests 40%

I make my own tests selecting 5 problems from either the homework or alcumus and have him solve it on paper.   Yes, they are previously solved problems, but it is a good review to see if he can solve them again after awhile.  

NOTE:  I **ONLY** do this because we almost transferred my son to a private school, and they were not going to give him high school credit for his "mama taught math" unless I could provide samples of tests.  Ever since that happened to me, I have been keeping better records.   My husband was diagnosed with lymphoma last year (he is in remission now, praise God!), and it was a good reminder that we may not always be able to keep homeschooling despite our best laid plans.  You never know what life is going to throw at you--and I need to keep my options open.  Things get a little more hairy in high school when it comes to graduation requirements and transferring credit, so I keep LOTS of records.  

----------------------

ETA:  If anyone would like to see my copies of the tests (and written problems) I have to go with Introduction to Geometry, please send me a private message and I will email them to you.   I only have them written for as far as we are in the book.   But I can send them as I make them.

Edited October 22, 2021 by TheAttachedMama

[Noreen Claire]

On 10/17/2021 at 8:59 PM, thewellerman said:

Thank you!  We also work to mastery, but I was under the impression that I had to explain how I calculated their grade, and thought some sort of testing would be needed.  

Thank you for the test links.  I did find that before, but I couldn't get them to open.  I just found the thread again, and I still can't.  Maybe it is because I am a new poster?

Try this (newer) post:

https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/688668-aops-intro-to-algebra-tests/

[Alice]

On 10/17/2021 at 5:27 PM, thewellerman said:

I've read through some old threads on this topic, but was wondering how people are handling it lately.  Because AoPS doesn't have tests, and because is is expected that students will get problems incorrect as they work through them, how do you give a grade?  

Does mastery on Aleks work?  Another option?

 

My concern is that working through AoPS is definitely honors, but if the testing isn't also at the honors level, is it ethical to give them an A and still label it as an honors course?

I think it depends somewhat on the kid, like everything in homeschooling. 

For us , my AOPS kid was my kid who loves Math. He will likely major in Math in college. He worked through AOPS on his own, for the most part.Early on I checked to  make sure he was getting most of the practice/end of chapter problems right. Those he missed he reworked. Because he loves Math he had no desire to not actually learn the material. I gave him a final exam in Algebra because I felt like I should but it seemed like just a checkbox and not that it added anything to his learning. So I felt like it was ethical and accurate to give him A’s for all his Math classes even without an exam. I also labeled them as honors based on the material covered.

For the exam in Algebra, I asked a friend who was a middle school Math teacher at a private school if I could have a copy of the exam he used. 

Colleges seemed to have no problem with the “Mommy grades" on his transcript. I just explained somewhere that we work to mastery and that it was designated Honors based on the material covered. In the curriculum section of what we sent to colleges I used the AOPS course descriptions to show what was covered. Colleges knew he was an intended Math major, and he talked to a lot of the Math professors at the schools he was interested in. He did have very high SAT Math scores and an AP Calc score to back up the grades given at home. 

I don’t use AOPS for my other kids because it would not be a good fit. And if I did use it I would likely be much more hands-on and needing to do some kind of evaluation to make sure they were learning the material. Math is not something they love and just want to master for the pure joy of it. 😃