Grades: to keep or not?

H

hsingscrapper

New Member
My son has become a bit needy in this department and has been asking for grades. I guess he wants to know where he stands on everything.

Our state requirements are only 180 days of attendance so for that reason, I'm reluctant to create more work for myself.

Would you keep grades if you didn't have to? For any reason?
 
If it's important to him, yes, I would give him a grade. But if it's NOT important, then no, I wouldn't.
 
I guess the next question is do I actually keep track of the grades or just write them on his paper to give him an idea of where he stands?
 
A good question to ask is:
What are you trying to accomplish?

In this case, it seems that the goal is to:
Satisfy the child, not the state.

So what would it take to satisfy the child?
On his paper only?
Or
A running record?

That should answer your question. But only one You can answer, of course.



I am in your situation.
No need to report to state.
But my children love seeing how well they did.

So here is what we do....
I write it on their paper and they get stickers (We are still 1st and 3rd grades)

But I also keep a running record.
I simply write "Complete" on a running transcript record.

I keep that record for ME.
They seem to be satisfied knowing how they did.

BUT!
Since I have three children I only grade FINALS! Or tests, like spelling tests. Or the final review or test of a grammar chapter or math chapter. I do NOT write a grade on EVER paper.

The transcript that I keep for me is a list of school years, the subjects taught and the general grade. K - 3rd is simply a "Mastered" or "Completed".

When we get to 4th and above, we will be more detailed with grades, such as how well the child did not just in science in general, but a specific unit study.

The highschool years will be grades for individual classes.

Hope this helps!
 
My thinking on grades from what I remember as a student is that they only serve as a kind of reward. They aren't terribly useful otherwise.

It might be better to sit down and crtique his work with him so he can gain an appreciation for constructive critcism and maybe come to prefer that over a number or letter grade.
 
Garding

I agree with Dawninns; and it might also help to split the 'grades' up, by coming up with different criteria for a task. At age six, I'd be asking my child BEFORE the task, what he/she thinks needs to be done to get a "Top Job" (or an A or whatever). Things like:
- the amount of persistence- keeping on trying
- resilience- not giving up, finding different ways to do something
- presentation (neatness, use of headings, lettering, pictures etc)
- creativity - new and original ideas
- organisation - keeping to a schedule, planning ahead etc
- knowledge- being able to explain, answer questions..


Agreeing with students of all ages (including adults) beforehand on the criteria, means they KNOW what they're supposed to be trying to achieve... :)
 
If something was important to my kids, I would do it without hesitation whether it meant more work on my part or not.
 
MamaBear said:
If something was important to my kids, I would do it without hesitation whether it meant more work on my part or not.
Click to expand...

Good point. I didn't even think of it that way. Now I feel like a twinkie-head for asking it.

btw, twinkie-head = sweetheart minded airhead cuz twinkies are sweet but full of air (and calories)
 
I don't give grades per se but I do grade their math and english tests and mark the %. I'm not required to turn it in either but my girls do like to know how they did in those areas. I don't give grades for every assignment in those subjects just on the tests (at least at this point). My oldest has also had some tests in her VA History worktext and I've done the same thing on those.
 
hsingscrapper said:
Good point. I didn't even think of it that way. Now I feel like a twinkie-head for asking it.

btw, twinkie-head = sweetheart minded airhead cuz twinkies are sweet but full of air (and calories)
Click to expand...

No problem Twinkie! LOL :love:

Every question is a good question to ask. That's what we're here for. (((( ))))

 
That brings up yet another question:

Do I actually keep track of them or just give him a grade on his paper?

I haven't the foggiest idea of where to begin on this.
 
I don't grade anything but math and spelling...it is mostly for ds, as coming from ps he still wants that feedback. (it helps for dh too.)
We are also (inconsistantly) grading the "day"
I got this from Franklin-Covey
1-4
1= less than expected, poor attitude, not timely
2= what was expected, late or whining, fair in timing
3= what was expected, good attitude, good timing
4 = more than expected, good attitude, extra effort.
We get mostly 3's.
have gotten a few 4s and at least 2 1's...I mainly use the 1,2 and 4 as the threes take care of themselves.
 
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