What age/level do you start giving grades?

[ummtafari]

Also, do you assign grades to all assignments? All work, tests, projects, etc? Plus, what do you use to record them?Thanks in advance!

 

Debra in VA

[phathui5]

Mine are in K and 3rd and we haven't used grades for anything yet. I'll probably consider it when we get to a high school level, to use on transcripts.

[Pamela H in Texas]

We've always worked to mastery. My kids don't wish to take longer on work than is necessary so do a good job the first time and do corrections as necessary. Of course, we'd reteach if necessary also.

 

I thought we'd use grades in high school, but there really seems very little reason to do so.

[ummtafari]

Well, we haven't used grades for K-3rd either and thought I wouldn't start grading until high school, but then I have recently rethought this for my 4th grader. I think he might benefit from me assigning him grades in math especially as he doesn't want to check over his work and me grading it makes him more aware of errors due to not double checking his work.

 

Anyone else?

 

Debra in VA

[LisaKinVA]

I started doing this informally this year, to help break my son of some bad habits... so pretty much everything gets graded/marked somehow. I had planned to do report cards for him, but didn't make it to that.

 

I do plan on issuing report cards in 5th grade... and definitely in middle school. I don't want him to have any "big surprises" about grading, grading scales, etc. as a high school freshman.

 

The unintended consequences, of course, have been that my two little ones (in K/1st) also want to know their grades (did they get an A+???)

 

FWIW, we do work towards mastery. However, my son has a check-off list (Did you follow all directions? Is your work neat? Did you answer all of the questions, and complete all of the tasks?, Did you use complete sentences, correct spelling, and proper punctuation where needed? Have you checked your work? Did you do your BEST work?) If he answers yes to all of these questions, he's turning it in for a grade.

 

He gets the grade he earned on the work, and anything missed has to be corrected. If he thoroughly bombed an assignment, he will do it over (if it's because he was lazy the original grade stands, if it's because he didn't understand the concept -- I'll usually average the two grades. The lesson there, is for him to ask for help when he doesn't really understand something -- not to just "do it" off the cuff.

[ummtafari]

I do plan on issuing report cards in 5th grade... and definitely in middle school. I don't want him to have any "big surprises" about grading, grading scales, etc. as a high school freshman

 

I was also finding this to be an issue. My son is going on 10 yo and he didn't know what a grade was or anything about a grading scale either when talking with other children who were in school. So, after I explained it to him, he wanted to know what his grades were on his assignments.

 

Debra in VA

[Haiku]

I think he might benefit from me assigning him grades in math especially as he doesn't want to check over his work and me grading it makes him more aware of errors due to not double checking his work.

 

 

I think you can mark the ones he needs to revisit without giving him grades. He can still go back and re-do them. I'm not sure that using grades as a stick to make kids check their work really works. They might be like me, and not check it anyway, or they might do it just because of the grade stic and not because they are developing a habit of diligence.. I think that a better lesson would be what happens when a child is in a more real-life situation and isn't diligent and suffers the consequences.

 

Tara

[ummtafari]

I think that a better lesson would be what happens when a child is in a more real-life situation and isn't diligent and suffers the consequences.

 

I agree, but what do you think a real life consequence is for a 4th grader? We can give them stories about being short changed (which we do frequently), but what other lessons can they learn? Just curious.

 

 

Debra in VA

[KLA]

Tara - can you elaborate more on this, please? I really like your answer. I implemented grades this year thinking it would help my son grow in diligence, particularly in Math. All his errors are careless ones - copying wrong, not labeling, not answering the second part of a questions, messy answers that i can't read, etc. He, like you said, still doesn't check his work - even with his handy checklist and being told, "You could have an A if you would just check over your work carefully."

 

I'm a big believer in natural consequences so how does your answer play out in for example, Math? I do make him re-do any missed problems.

 

Thanks,

KLA

[Haiku]

I don't really have an answer for a stock real-life diligence lesson, because kids' lives are so different and because what resonates with one child as a lesson might not with another. In my humble opinion, I wouldn't be particularly worried about my kid developing a habit of diligence at age 10 because there are very few things that 10 year olds are responsible for that their lack of diligence would really affect.

 

I guess a few things I can think of are letting friends down because they didn't follow through/perform as they promised due to lack of diligence, or having to do chores over again because they were careless, or setting a goal for themselves and not meeting it because they didn't apply themselves to meet their goal. I don't think any of these would necessarily look like big "a-ha" moments from the outside, and we as parents may not even be aware of them, but they might make huge impacts on the children themselves.

 

Then again, maybe they won't. I feel that I have a happy, successful, and loving life. I am mother to three kids, run my household, homeschool two of my kids, maintain fulfulling relationships, etc., but I wouldn't say that diligence is one of my character traits. I tend to be lazy and sloppy about some things. I am not necessarily diligent about the things that aren't all that important to me (which, to me, is the definition of diligence ... doing the best, crossing the t's and dotting the i's all the time because it's the right thing to do regardless of perceived personal payback), but I do manage to take care of the things that matter to me and my family. My house could be tidier, yes, but for the most part, everything that we need to get done gets done.

 

Ok, that got way too long-winded, so sorry! I guess what I would say in the end is, for me it would be enough to simply make sure my kids redid the things they got wrong in math. I think it's a situation where we have to decide for ourselves what our ultimate goal is in regards to our kids' schoolwork and forming habits of diligence.

 

Tara

[Testimony]

My sons take the tests in Story of the World. I give them a grade in that. Otherwise, my focus is on the children mastering the subject, topic, or information.

 

I will probably start in high school giving out grades since I am going to create a transcript.

 

May the Lord grant you peace in the New Year.

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Murphy101]

7th or 8th

[sweetbaby]

In the beginning of our hs journey, I gave all of my dc grades but I've learned that mastery is so much more important. We also use narration (written and oral) as of form of testing which works out so much better. Now I know what they actually know and not what they don't know as a test would show. The formal testing pressure is off and I can tell the difference that it has made. My highschooler does test is many subjects and some subjects require written narration or research.

[KLA]

I In my humble opinion, I wouldn't be particularly worried about my kid developing a habit of diligence at age 10 because there are very few things that 10 year olds are responsible for that their lack of diligence would really affect.

 

I guess a few things I can think of are letting friends down because they didn't follow through/perform as they promised due to lack of diligence, or having to do chores over again because they were careless, or setting a goal for themselves and not meeting it because they didn't apply themselves to meet their goal. I don't think any of these would necessarily look like big "a-ha" moments from the outside, and we as parents may not even be aware of them, but they might make huge impacts on the children themselves.

 

I guess what I would say in the end is, for me it would be enough to simply make sure my kids redid the things they got wrong in math. I think it's a situation where we have to decide for ourselves what our ultimate goal is in regards to our kids' schoolwork and forming habits of diligence.

Tara

 

Thank you, Tara. There is a lot of wisdom in what you said. Going to to chew on it all.

[cathmom]

I don't like grading. I have found that some children then become all about the grade. The grade is the only thing that matters. I think it is better to learn for learning's sake. I did not grade my oldest until high school on objective things like math tests, in order to make a transcript.

 

It took me until grad school to get over just working for the grade.

[ummtafari]

Now I know what they actually know and not what they don't know as a test would show.

 

 

That is correct! On the other hand, I feel like I don't want them at a disadvantage because they never were tested. We have never tested, but I feel like I need to start teaching them how to take a test as they get a bit older. So, the test taking (standarized testing) would be for learning how to take a test as opposed to testing to see if they know the material.

 

I never did well on standarized tests. Give me an essay any day! I just don't want my children in the same position as me.

 

Debra in VA

[Testimony]

Yes, I do test my children. I have them take the IOWA tests at the end of the year. My homeschool support group offer a place where they can take the tests. I use it as a teaching tool. I want them to get use to test taking, too. I don't want the SATs to be the first time they ever take a test.

 

I really use the standardize test as a teaching tool. I figure if they get use to it. They will learn how to master it. That is my only purpose for doing it. I don't test them through out the school year. I really focus on mastering what they have learned. So, when I give the IOWAs, it is really for the same purpose: keep doing it until they have mastered it.

 

Blessings,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[inashoe]

I don't grade, but as from end of 4th grade we do a standardized test.

ds has done the CAT once and IOWA once- but I will probably just stick to the CAT in the future. They were very similar and gave similar results.

 

I feel this is a subjective measure of ds. I would have a very hard time grading my own child.

[fractalgal]

Also, do you assign grades to all assignments? All work, tests, projects, etc? Plus, what do you use to record them?Thanks in advance!

 

Debra in VA

 

I give grades to most things, but my children do not usually see them unless they look back through their workbooks. It is more for my informational purposes.

 

In addition I grade my daughter's exams, and we discuss them afterwards. I encourage her to show her work. If she chooses not to, and gets the question wrong she knows that I will count it wrong. We agree to the rules at the start of the exam.

 

I use an Excel spreadsheet. I have a back-up hard drive to save them on.

 

Grading gives me a detailed description to help me see their progress and also helps me monitor which sections they need to work on.

[AnnetteB]

We grade math papers beginning with Saxon 54 because the kids actually enjoy figuring out the percentage and letter grade, lol. They record their grade on the inside of their spiral math notebook and we can see how they are doing. If they get a C we go back a lesson or two and review. Prior to this math text they use ABeka and BJU consumable workbooks and just have correction marks. Otherwise, I don't give grades because we expect mastery before we move on. DS just graduated Magna cum laude with his BA in computer science and minor in business. I think that he learned to put forth his best effort and we never stressed over grades. It was interesting when it came time to submit his high school transcript...

[TxMama]

I do not grade work done by my children younger than highschool. At the highschool level I had them log hours in subjects and keep all work. At the end of each year we gathered their logs and work and attempted to place a grade on it. Math was easy. For my child who would take the the tests for a subject and grade it on his own ( apologia science, for example) it was also relatively easy. I "graded" highschool work by the amount of effort they put into a subject.....minimal effort but understanding earned a "C", Moderate effort with understanding earned a "B", wowed me effort earned an "A". So my test taking kid who made A's on the test only got a B because he really didn't retain as much as his non testing sister who filled notebooks with notes and researched topics further.

 

 

I do not give test .....ever. My older kids took a few classes at a local homeschool store in their teen years and learned to take tests, etc. with an outside teacher. I did have them take a few standardized tests for the experience.....I didn't want the SAT to be their experience with standardized tests.

 

For years I used Homeschool Easy Records to log hours/ grades with the plan to print out their transcripts for college but did not like the way it looked. I also found it cumbersome to transfer their timelogs to another record so I just abandoned the whole idea. ( HER is great if you like/need grades/ hours for whatever reason)

 

I ultimately created my own transcript using a template I found online. I found it was just as easy for me to keep a box that each year we filled any outside grades, their time logs, their papertrail,etc with a notebook that I kept a tally of what they accomplish and what they needed to graduate.

 

HTH

[angela in ohio]

I start right from the beginning. I grade math papers and put checks and smileys on other papers. By middle elementary, I put letter grades on things. For junior high and higher, I am keeping a yearly grade record.

 

Like everything else, by starting from the beginning, my dc don't have any anxiety over grading, as they just think its the way things are done.

[Strawberry Queen]

I have just started grading some subjects with dd1. She has to write a provincial exam in language arts and math this year. So I'm trying to provide her some feedback in her writing assignments as to what level she is writing at. It gives her information on what she can improve with her writing. Before I started this I just said that it was good, or an interesting story etc. Having rubrics for her writing forces me to give more constructive evaluation and gives her more feedback. She sees what she needs to work on to improve.

 

I also grade her review pages for SM for my own info and for dh. He likes to know what % she has. I generally know where she's at so it's good for him to see that she's getting a xx% in math.

 

I give grades because she will eventually get them. She generally does well, so they don't really discourage her. She is by nature a bit of a perfectionist and she's competitive, so this helps her compete against herself. I won't give dd2 marks for a while and I will definitely keep them secret form dd1 so she doesn't compete with her little sister.

I will probably delay giving grades to dd2 as she has a different nature to dd1.

[phathui5]

I agree, but what do you think a real life consequence is for a 4th grader? We can give them stories about being short changed (which we do frequently), but what other lessons can they learn? Just curious.

 

 

Debra in VA

 

It seems to me that the natural consequence would be having to go back and fix your work.

[RootAnn]

I give grades to most things, but my children do not usually see them unless they look back through their workbooks. It is more for my informational purposes.

...

Grading gives me a detailed description to help me see their progress and also helps me monitor which sections they need to work on.

 

:iagree: Math would be an example. I grade only the exams (written & oral) and it is more for my information. DD#1 (7 yrs old) knows she can get a sticker for an "A" on her math test. She likes stickers, so she will usually (but not always) go back to look for sloppy mistakes. Spelling is another one I assign a grade to because we have tests on words/phonograms.

 

I don't give tests in any other subject, although we do oral quizzes in religion and written quizzes in science. I don't worry about giving a "grade" in those.

 

If you looked at my written "grade" record for my oldest from last year, the "C+" in Spelling would stick out as a final. But, if you looked next to it, you would see what "grade level equivalent" at which she tested and at what level we finished. That would show she did just fine. If my kid came home with a C+ from the public school, I would be concerned. I know exactly where that C+ came from in my records -- and those records don't "go anywhere" (not required in our state that I ever produce a written record), so it is just for my husband and I to see where she fell.

 

I find it nice to be able to go back to last year's record sheet and see what percentage she got right on the same spelling list she is doing now (SWR) to see how much progress she has made.

 

It works for us the way we are doing it. I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone.

[Plucky]

I start in 7th with giving tests and grades in a couple courses. I don't record them anywhere. I give and record grades in high school for the transcript. I keep a binder with each year's work and tests in different subjects that are graded. I should probably keep a grade log but haven't yet. I still encourage mastering a subject and really learning it irregardless of the grade.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I tried grading my son in 5th grade. Dh and I thought it might motivate him - nope! He was fine getting an F or a D. If he didn't want to do something he would just say "just give me a bad grade." That backfired for us. Now he just has to re-do anything not up to snuff on his own time. This is working well.

 

That is what my ds would have done also. Logical consequences (will have to redo work) make much more sense to him. He LIKES good grades; he's just not willing to work for them. He IS willing to work well so as not to have to redo work when he could be doing whatever else though.

[mcconnellboys]

I don't "assign grades", per se, unless my children ask for it for a certain reason, such as needing a grade card to earn a free ice cream cone at a place that provides treats for A's, etc.

 

Since we try to always work for mastery - at least at the earlier grade levels, everything would be an A, pretty much, anyway.

 

When they get into logic stage, fifth through eighth grades, I try to start administering more tests, more written review, etc. This year I am using SOTW tests with my younger son and grading those. I administer tests at the end of grammar chapters (I use Abeka) and grade those. I administer spelling tests weekly and grade those (actually, that's one subject that I start grading even in elementary).

 

With my older son, I kept a record book and entered grades in it for some years. With my younger, I have not done that. I have all his work organized and tabbed into notebooks. Those things which are graded could be gone through very quickly to obtain a 6 or 9 week grade report, if I felt the need for that.

 

When my older son started doing high school level work and needed a grade for transcript purposes, even though I could gauge by then whether he had an "A" or "B" in the class, I would pull random selections of work and grade it, along with all the tests, and I never found that his grade was other than what I had gauged already.

 

Now he's back in a private school and I see them doing the same exact sort of thing in grading kids' work. In fact, they often give "A" grades for homework being done, without it actually being checked for accuracy. I don't think this helps the kids at all with respect to learning the material. Learning for mastery and correcting as you go along, in my opinion, as most homeschoolers do, is much more beneficial to the students. At this school, they do review sheets prior to tests and students get corrections to any mistakes they've made at this time (at least over those important items that are going to make it onto the test).

 

With my younger son's work, I put a check mark at the top of the page as I finish going over each page if it's satisfactory. If there are any mistakes, I either correct those, talking to him about it as I do so, or I give the work back to him and he corrects it himself. I think learning is too important to make it a matter of, "You messed up, so you get a bad grade on this paper today." Now, that said, if I had a problem child who was not performing well in certain subjects on a regular basis, I might start grading the work if I thought that would result in them making more of an effort in that particular subject. Grades motivate some children....

[coffeefreak]

I have always kept grades for record keeping purposes. I use Homeschool

Tracker to do it. In my mind, while I'm not required to keep records, there may be a day when I am or when I have to enroll my children in school. If that ever happens, I don't want it to hinder them in any way. Also, I always figured if I start keeping records now, it will be easier for me to continue when it's necessary, like for High School. I've started encouraging her to get 100's on all her math sheets. We have a chart where, when she gets ten 100's, she gets a reward. Otherwise, she doesn't know or care about grades.

 

Blessings!

[Peela]

My kids are ages 13 and 14 and I don't grade. Well, not in any sort of sophisticated way, anyway. I mark their work, we go over mistakes, that's it.

[Ellie]

I'm iffy on grades, but I do think that at some point the dc have to learn that what they turn in is what they turn in, that there are no do-overs. That's usually around, oh, 12 or 13yo.

[Melanie]

I've always graded math, grammar, and Latin. The natural consequence of missing problems is having to do those problems over again. The natural consequence of missing many problems over time is having to do lessons/chapters/books over again.

 

I don't give history or science tests; writing assignments and lab reports are simply rewritten until they are acceptable.

[3Rivers]

I'm going to be implementing grades this coming semester to give me a little more leverage. ;) The real reason is that it gives me a basis for giving rewards! We all love that. I think it also gives an objective criteria for seeing progress and teaching what is acceptable work, what is poor, and what is outstanding. I say that I'm starting to do that, but really I have always had some kind of scale or goal for written assignments and projects. I don't grade every single thing, though, and probably never will, such as independent learning or projects they have initiated on their own. My kids are 7 and 10. I don't grade the 4 year old.

 

Jamie

[LG Gone Wild]

Well, we haven't used grades for K-3rd either and thought I wouldn't start grading until high school, but then I have recently rethought this for my 4th grader. I think he might benefit from me assigning him grades in math especially as he doesn't want to check over his work and me grading it makes him more aware of errors due to not double checking his work.

 

Anyone else?

 

Debra in VA

 

Same situation. I guess you can just an old fashion grade book that teachers used on us. I might do that or use a spreadsheet. I've only done math. I just mark the paper but I don't record any grades. Perhaps in 5th, I'll start recording.