I know I've seen a discussion about this before, but I'm just needing a little confidence boost that I'm doing this right. I don't "grade" my kids' work-the younger three, anyway. And I don't give them "tests" per se. There are quizzes included in their LightUnits and I do have them complete those on their own. But, rather than mark their wrong answers and give them a grade on how many they got right, I make them correct them and we talk about the ones they missed. Sometimes my youngers will ask me what grade they got and I always put an A on their paper. My high schooler is a little different. Since I have to keep grades for her transcipt, I do grade her tests and papers and mark things wrong. But I still have her correct her work and make sure she understands. I have her rewrite her papers and make the corrections. To me, understanding the material and knowing the information is more important than "passing" a test. Her grades should all be A's because we don't move on until she masters the material. But lately, I've heard a lot of discussions among our homeschool group moms about grades. A few days ago, a friend posted on FB that her daughter had a 93% in math and a 95% in reading (this is a 2nd or 3rd grader). Yesterday, some moms were talking about their kids not giving their best effort and missing questions on their work. They said they allowed their kids to correct their work for 1/2 credit on each question. In our state, we don't have to report grades or anything like that, so it's a matter of preference, I guess. I'm just curious how everyone else does grades for their elementary kids.
I have three children at elementary level. I grade my 2nd and 4th graders once in a while, if they are doing a review or assessment, and while I do let them correct the work, I do not change the grade. Sometimes I will give the same test after a few days, just to make sure they understood the material, but the original grade is the one I record... I'm curious to see what others do. Right now of course the grades dont really matter much, but I will need to work out a proper system before they hit transcript time!
Our boys are a little young for this, but I really see myself continuing their education on the same path, so here is my 2 cents: I wouldn't do real grading unless I had to (in Highschool). I think grades would put too much pressure on ym kids, especially my oldest who is a perfectionist, and would be extremely upset if I meticulously graded everything. We mostly do discussion questions anyway.
What you are doing sounds good to me. Before the recent change in Minnesota, we used to have to submit report cards to the school. I printed something online that had the option to use the A-F scale or one that used things like N for Needs Improvement, P for Progressing, and S for Satisfactory. I used the N/P/S scale for a while, but I never showed it to him. Now I don't do much grading at all. My oldest has the quizzes and tests in his math, which I grade. I never thought about having him grade it. We might try that. Other than that, I can't think of anything else that gets specific grades. We are still required to keep some sort of record of grades in MN in case we need to transfer or something.
I give both my girls grades.. I even give them report cards.. it gives them an incisive to work hard and do there best! I gave out "report cards" Monday, and my youngest was so excited to see that she was getting A's in every subject but one! She took hers and her sisters and hung them on the fridge for their dad to see! I truly only need grades for my oldest, but I do them for both...
My plan is the same as yours. Mine are young but I do what you do with your younger ones and plan to do what you are doing with your older one when mine are older. And for the same reasons as you. Grades don't mean you understand the material.
We are part of a large co-op and they start assigning grades in 5th grade. However, on the work we do at home, I am just now starting to assign grades. My tiwns are in 8th grade and I am trying to get used to grading for highschool! I am not looking forward to keeping up with grades for their highschool transcripts!
I don't do grades either. Though I did a final grade on his math final last year just to assure myself that he was passing. But with everyday work I mark things wrong and have him re-do because I think the same as you that they should master the subjects. If he gets too many wrong on today's math page I print him another review page for that chapter tomorrow. He doesn't move to the next chapter until he shows a decent mastery of the current concept.
The only things I do a grade on are Math and Latin both because dd asked me to. For Math I do let her go back and redo problems for 1/2 credit. My plan is to ease into grading during middle school. Dd is in 4th grade now. Once she is in middle school I will start adding in subjects to grade so that by the time she is in 9th grade, testing and grading will be common for her.
When my oldest was not in highschool, I did not bother with them, but now since she is... sister wants grades too! LOL So I give them both grades and "report cards"...
I require 90 percent mastery before moving on to another topic, but I do not assign grades nor give report cards. My kids were in a private school for a few years, and grades and report cards would feel too much like school to them, which would be a huge turn-off! However, my youngest loves giving himself grades, and always gives himself an A+++++!
