What kind of grading system do you use?

I use Abeka so the grading scale and progress reports are included in our curriculum. I do not follow Abekas tough grading scaled though. I use what I remember as the grading scaled of 100-90 A, 89-80 B, 79-75 C, 74-70 D, Below 70 F. If I had to grade I thihnk I would lump things together like the tests in one section, daily work in another and quizzes in yet another and average each set together and then have each section carry diffeent weights, tests are more important than daily work and quizzes. I would grade some on grammar and spelling in the other subjects, but not too heavily the point is knowing whether the child knows science or history or math. Of course if you can’t read it then it can’t be graded. Save the heavy grammar grading for grammar and so on. But then if you did not want to be this extensive with grading you could just give them the grade you think they perform at, if he completes his math very quickly with little to no help and all is correct then he deserves an A and so forth.

I’m not required to keep a grading system and I don’t use grades. If I had to, I would use my province’s letter grade system (without the percentages tied to it):

A: excellence

B: above acceptable standard

C: acceptable

D: hasn’t met acceptable standard (in a public school, this consitutes a failure)

I would still use percentages for certain things to figure out final marks–it’s fairly easy to get a percentage for a math assignment, for example. Some things would be arbitrarily based on the categories provided above.

For written assignments (essays, stories, etc.), break down the mark into different categories worth a certain amount each. For example: Thought and Detail (10 points), Organization (coherence, things in sensible order–10 points), Matters of Choice (vocabulary used, impressions given with vocabulary–5 points), Conventions (spelling, handwriting, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, sentence construction, etc.–5 points). This way, handwriting is seen as a factor in the final marking, something that’s part of making the product legible to the reader, but it’s not a huge part.

Of course, you could have a separate mark on handwriting entirely.

And no, I would not take into consideration my child’s attitude or level of cooperation. The mark should reflect the mastery the child has of the course content, not how he feels about the course content. Attitude and cooperation should be dealt with through parenting, not through grades.

We use no traditional grading, or testing system.

I do not see the need to write down the area’s that need improvement, we just sit down, and talk a bit about where they may need to apply themselves a bit more, and as time goes on improvements will be made.

Items such as handwriting we do not harp on.

A progress report can be as little as a note in a file stating the area’s of improvement, and the area’s that need a bit more work, it need not be much.

We work until they get the concepts in the area’s that require this, and go from there.

Most often I would like them to be around, or over 85 %, and if they are not we keep working on it until they do.

This only apply’s to math, and language arts though since all other subjects, like social studies, science, civic’s and such are accumulative over the years.

If I would have to recalculate that into grades they would be B average students.

GPA’s can be calculated when they take the SAT and ACT’s, or a solid B average translates in about a 3.5 GPA.

I think this varies from state to state and district to district. The above answer is rather flip and I do not think correct. I believe some areas will test for placement others will accept either detailed transcripts or a portfolio of work or combination of both or even all three of the above. They would not, as the above poster states, “start at the bottom!” I know a lot of families who homeschooled through middle school but then the kids attended PS for high school. No problems. I know a particular student who returned to PS. The guidance counselor asked about the kid’s curriculum. A Beka was the answer. The response? Ah! No problem.

just a thought…I am not required by my state’s law to use grades, and I have no intention of doing so.

But I think it’s good to not let sloppy spelling, grammar, and handwriting go uncommented upon, but rather than marking down the score for, say, a science or history assignment have those errors reflect in the penmanship, spelling and grammar parts of the report cards.

I’m in Georgia, and we are only required to test once every three years, and we do not have to show it to anyone, but I’ll give you the methods we use in between.

I assume you are talking about English Comp, history, and science. I actually combine many things such as I’ll make them write essays about our literature, history lessons, or our science lessons. Math always boils down to having the correct equations and answers. If it isn’t legible, it’s wrong.

Yes, spelling, grammar, and handwriting all count towards the grade. I give 50% of the grade on knowing and understanding the subject matter, 10% for spelling, 10% for grammar, 10% for handwriting, 10% for creativity, and 10% for flow and overall effect.

Most curriculums include a rubric to help you set standards for grading each subject.

For younger grades I gave a grade for daily work and a grade for tests and major projects. 50% of the quarter grade was based on daily work and 50% on tests and major projects.

For jr./Sr. High I am lowering the percentage for daily work and increasing the percentage for tests and projects to 25/75.

Is that what they mean by ‘scholarship’ report with the attendance?

It looks like Kentucky is very lenient. If it were me, I’d give A’s for good work, B’s for what you think is less than his best, C’s for average, and D’s for needing to improve.

The HSLDA page that I looked at says that the officials cannot come into your home.

If I had to grade like that, I guess I would do it the way they did it in school. Each assignment had a 100% value and you would assign each problem a value that would add up to the 100.

Dear Serena_morris70:

Go to: http://endabuse.org/statereport/index.php3?StateID=KY

Family Violence Prevention Fund

Kentucky

Below is a report on Kentucky’s statutes as they relate to domestic violence. The state is given a score from -1 (poorest) to 2 (best) in each of the areas, and the total score is used to calculate the state’s letter grade. Kentucky received a grade of D.

Statement

Kentucky has a law requiring training for all certified and licensed health and mental health professionals on the topic of domestic violence. The Governor’s Council on Domestic Violence (which includes a physician) works to implement this law. The Council has created or approved, or is in the process of doing so, separate training curricula for nurses, doctors, mental health professionals, paramedics, EMTs, coroners, medical examiners, and drug and alcohol counselors. The training curriculum created by the Kentucky Medical Association and approved by the Council specifically addresses screening by health care providers. The Kentucky Medical Association has developed a comprehensive protocol for health care providers which addresses screening and intervention in domestic violence cases. Kentucky has established strict procedures and training requirements for counselors who provide batterer treatment programs.

Kentucky has also funded mental health services for victims of domestic violence with state general funds and Violence Against Women Act funding. We have also created and funded an Office of Women’s Health, the mission of which included domestic violence and sexual assault issues. (Submitted by: Kentucky.)

Statute Type Score Details

Training 1 KRS§194A.540 requires all mental health professionals, primary care physicians, nurses emergency medical technicians, paramedics, coroners, medical examiners and alcohol and drug counselors to take a 3-hour course on domestic violence for continued and initial licensure or certification.

Screening 0 None

Protocols 0 None

Mandatory Reporting -1 KRS§209.020 requires health care providers to provide an oral or written report to the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children when they suspect “spouse abuse.” The Cabinet is responsible for notifying the appropriate law enforcement agency, initiating an investigation, and writing a report with recommendations for further actions.

Insurance Discrimination 0 KRS 304.17A-155 prohibits any health benefit plan from refusing to issue or renew coverage, canceling an existing policy, denying coverage or deny a claim on an insurance policy to anyone who has been the victim of domestic violence. Domestic violence is not to be considered a preexisting condition.

Non-Legislative Policy/Funding 0.5

Total: 0.5

Grading System A+=8-10 A=4-7 B=3 C=2 D=0 or 1 F=-1 or lower

I hope this helped!

Sincerely,

[email protected]