Awarding Grades
Many new homeschoolers want to know how they should decide on what grades to award their children. There are many different schools of thought on this subject. While there is certainly a place in a school setting for grading, is there a place for grading in a home setting? In a school setting, how else would one teacher for every 20 or so children be able to assess what their students do and do not understand? In homeschooling, you have 24/7 contact with your child, and no one knows better than you how your child is progressing. Some parents choose to stick to a more traditional approach to grading. Some parents believe that homeschooling is about knowledge and not about a letter grade and do not grade their students at all and concentrate more on making sure their child knows the material thoroughly (of course you will need to issue grades if requesting a transcript). Whatever your school of thought is on this subject, there is no right or wrong answer to this question. It is simply a matter of opinion.
The following information is for those who choose to award grades:
What kind of grades should you award?
Some parents choose to grade simply by using a pass/fail system.
Some parents choose to award letter grades such as those awarded in a school system. Usually a letter grade is awarded on the following scale or something similar:
How do you get these grades?
How do you find a letter/number grade average?
Simply divide the number of problems correct by the total number of problems. For example, if the page has 14 problems and your child got 12 correct, divide 12 by 14 to get .857 or 86%.
You would get a final grade using the same method. Simply add together all of your grades from tests, worksheets, and projects and divide by the total number possible. This will give you the final grade.
That's all there is to it! I hope this info helps! Some parents choose to award letter grades such as those awarded in a school system. Usually a letter grade is awarded on the following scale or something similar:
| A 90 - 100 B 80 - 89 C 70 -79 D 60 - 69 F 59 or below |
You can determine grades by effort, written seat work, tests, worksheets, projects, oral recitation, time spent, or any combination of these as you see fitting.
How do you find a letter/number grade average?
Simply divide the number of problems correct by the total number of problems. For example, if the page has 14 problems and your child got 12 correct, divide 12 by 14 to get .857 or 86%.
You would get a final grade using the same method. Simply add together all of your grades from tests, worksheets, and projects and divide by the total number possible. This will give you the final grade.
