What I love about homeschooling is that testing/grading can function as it should. It allows the teacher and student to objectively measure the students' grasp of the subject, not to "grade" them as smart or slow.
When I was in middle school, our ACE school had a policy that if you didn't get at least an 85%, you had to re-do the unit until you did. The idea was that if you hadn't mastered the material, you shouldn't move on to the next unit. Since we all worked at our own pace, we didn't have to worry about keeping up with a class. That made SO much sense to me - why should a student move on, if they don't understand the current material? What is the purpose of C or D grades, except to say "You didn't get it, but we'll keep going anyway." I adopted that same philosophy as a homeschool teacher. I have two possible grades: You mastered it, so you get an "A" - or you didn't master it, and you need to work on it some more.
I really appreciate this video. It's literally the only one I can find on the topic. I mostly do Charlotte Mason inspired curriculums but I'm moving to a state that requires me to provide grades for every single subject on the same schedule as the local school district. Since my current curriculums dont provide them, creating almost all my own assignments and tests for every subject seems like a lot of extra work! Can anyone recommend any good homeschool curriculums that make grading easy?
Great tips! Totally agree with all of this! We also do oral presentations/displays and PP with older kids for public speaking practice, tech use practice, and true knowledge of a particular subject or biography. I guess it’s another fancy way to do narration and research?! We usually talk through feedback on their presentations too. 😆 I think overall mastery and attitude play into grading too.
I use a rubric for grading art that I found online. It grades the effort as well as the detail and if the medium was used well. It has a column where the child grades themself and a column for the parent/teacher to grade.
Question, I need to add last public school grades to homeschool grades...to finalize a semester grade, what's the easiest way? I'm not fluent in excel or things like that yet.
Great tips! Quick question...you’re in NC right? We’re moving there in the spring and I’m concerned about the homeschool “rules”. Do we have to be under an umbrella school???
Nope! We've been under one for years now because my husband was military and we were moving constantly. I decided to just keep them for extra records. It's relatively easy to homeschool here :)
What I love about homeschooling is that testing/grading can function as it should. It allows the teacher and student to objectively measure the students' grasp of the subject, not to "grade" them as smart or slow.
When I was in middle school, our ACE school had a policy that if you didn't get at least an 85%, you had to re-do the unit until you did. The idea was that if you hadn't mastered the material, you shouldn't move on to the next unit. Since we all worked at our own pace, we didn't have to worry about keeping up with a class. That made SO much sense to me - why should a student move on, if they don't understand the current material? What is the purpose of C or D grades, except to say "You didn't get it, but we'll keep going anyway." I adopted that same philosophy as a homeschool teacher. I have two possible grades: You mastered it, so you get an "A" - or you didn't master it, and you need to work on it some more.
Creating a peer point is another fun option.
I really appreciate this video. It's literally the only one I can find on the topic. I mostly do Charlotte Mason inspired curriculums but I'm moving to a state that requires me to provide grades for every single subject on the same schedule as the local school district. Since my current curriculums dont provide them, creating almost all my own assignments and tests for every subject seems like a lot of extra work! Can anyone recommend any good homeschool curriculums that make grading easy?
I do evaluations in Florida and I have had a lot of CM parents worried about portfolios. This is a great video.
I've been so curious about this!! I love the look of more literature based programs but having no grades scares me haha
Great tips! Totally agree with all of this! We also do oral presentations/displays and PP with older kids for public speaking practice, tech use practice, and true knowledge of a particular subject or biography. I guess it’s another fancy way to do narration and research?! We usually talk through feedback on their presentations too. 😆 I think overall mastery and attitude play into grading too.
Thank you!!! This helped me so much! My son is in 8th grade and this really helped me
How would you make an assignment and give a grade for a subject that is subjective? Like art, or philosophy?
I use a rubric for grading art that I found online. It grades the effort as well as the detail and if the medium was used well. It has a column where the child grades themself and a column for the parent/teacher to grade.
As an art student: when a teacher decides a grade is necessary they will find a way
Great tips!
Question, I need to add last public school grades to homeschool grades...to finalize a semester grade, what's the easiest way? I'm not fluent in excel or things like that yet.
Great tips! Quick question...you’re in NC right? We’re moving there in the spring and I’m concerned about the homeschool “rules”. Do we have to be under an umbrella school???
Nope! We've been under one for years now because my husband was military and we were moving constantly. I decided to just keep them for extra records. It's relatively easy to homeschool here :)