What grade book do you use and how do you adapt it to a small, multi-level classroom? I've always just graded on the papers themselves and not kept track (when I grade at all), but with Eli in middle school, I'd like to get in the habit. But I can't find a gradebook that will work for a homeschool setting. Before I make my own, I thought I'd ask. [I know there are great free digital resources for grading... but I like pencil & paper.]
I don't grade, but when I first started out, I was very anal about everything and thought I had to. (LOL!) A regular teacher grade book works fine. It's laid out so that a page is a class period, but in a HS setting, a page can be one of your kids instead. I know me, though. When the time comes to start keeping records for real, I'll use a spreadsheet. I'm a bit of an Excel nut, so I'll honestly enjoy reinventing the wheel. *giggle*
Amie, I've told many times how i grid off a spiral notebook, with a column for each kid and a row for each subject: Bible, Reading, English, Math, Science, H&G, then one row for Language Arts Enhancement (which includes anything from extra phonics, comprehension worksheets, penmanship, any extra thing that falls into the LA category), then one row at the bottom for "Other" or "Notes". That's where I put disciplinary, health, excuse for absence, whatever. Or if we take a field trip, or an unscheduled day off, whatever. In the grid, I put "lesson plans", which usually consist of a lesson number, or page number, something very short. If there's a quiz or a test, I put the score in red and circle it. Then I make their report cards, and since each one is doing individualized lessons, their report cards are very individualized too. But, using the Tables function of my word processor, I put each unit number across the tops of the columns. There are rows for quizzes, reviews or checkups (if they are scored), the test, the date tested, and the grade for the entire Unit. I keep a 3-hole punched version of this in my binder, so it serves as gradebook and master-copy of the report card. I fill it out by hand as they take each quiz, test, whatever. Each subject on the student's report card is a separate table, because not all subjects have the same number of units. The report card that goes home is an unpunched copy of the same sheet, which I also fill in by hand at report card time. It's not a perfect system, but it's worked for 13 years so far. My word processor is WP 11, and it has in QuatroPro and Perfect Expert some premade grading sheets you can run off. One looks like a regular teacher gradebook with space for the kids' name down the left, and columns numbered across the top, so you just put the grade in the grid as you go. At home, you could use one page for one kid, and each line for each subject. At the bottom of the sheet is a legend, where you put which number means what kind of assignment, quiz, or whatever is getting graded. The boxes (like an Excel sheet) are big enough you could put number of points out of number possible, letter, or percentage grades.
I have only really started doing grades for papers/tests this year. We always did testable items before, I just never recorded before because we always go back and re-work until we have mastery (100%). Funny -- I'll be doing middle school next year, perhaps that's what motivated me, too. When I actually taught school, I used electronic gradebook systems. But now -- I used a system very similar to Lindina's. We toyed with various electronic/web based planner/gradebooks, but what has worked best for us (me and the kids) consistently is using a coil notebook. I use a commercial one, but it's very much like Lindina's system. Assignments and completion of assignments recorded in the front; grades recorded in the back. There is a page of grades for each child. Actually, this planner has a page for grades for each semester, but that's really overkill for us. However, it does make things nice and easy to read. That said -- even though the hard copy works best, I am paranoid I will lose it or forget it on a trip. So I created a Google Drive spreadsheet where I simply record test grades. A page per child, columns for subject area, rows for dates, with the grade entered into the cell. A simple but available backup. And cheap.
I grade just enough to say I graded. I make my own spreadsheet on Excel. Like 2littleboys, I enjoy building my own spreadsheets.
donnayoung.org also has excel grade books. I have used regular grade books, online planning and grading(way too time consuming, imho, and I have used Donna Young's excel grade book. I much prefer her excel. I am using it again this year...I really like the way she has it set up, it's easy to use and it averages the grades for me. I am also using one of the editable planner pages donnayoung.org has this year to save time and make it easier on the tendonitis I am dealing with.
