Grading High Schoolers

[SuzinTR]

I understand that I need to test my ninth grader and keep a record of those grades. I have been doing that since the beginning of our school year.

I've read through all of the homeschooling high schoolers information that I have, but cannot seem to locate exact grading information. What exactly do I need to grade her on? Is it just tests, or quizzes and daily grades? Is she supposed to be doing projects or any other special grading activities?

For instance, she is doing Apologia Science which calls for reading the material and answering the On Your Own questions. These questions probably total 10 questions per module. When she completes the module, she has to complete the Study Guide (without looking up the answers). Do I give something like a daily grade for the On Your Own questions, a separate grade for the Study Guides and yet another for the module tests, and then adding all three separate grades and averaging? Also, do I weight the grades or make all equal?

Thanks for your help!

Suzanne

[Dianna]

What exactly do I need to grade her on? Is it just tests, or quizzes and daily grades? Is she supposed to be doing projects or any other special grading activities? Suzanne

Suzanne, you're free to use any grading system that you feel realistically shows her strengths and weaknesses. That's one of the main purposes of a transcript - to show strengths & weaknesses within a course of study. (If your daughter is going to college, it's also important to have a grade point average for state scholarship purposes.)

I used a variety of methods to discern credit and grades with my high schooler (now in college), and I didn't use tests for many subjects. Below I've copied and pasted a reply to a question about credits. Although it was written to answer a question about granting credits, it may help to give you ideas. Please feel free to ask questions after reading it. :smile2:

Warmly,
Dianna

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How to award credits

When I went to school, we had to have 24 credits to graduate. These days, most schools require around 22 to 30 credits to graduate. Most students have somewhere between 24 and 32 credits by the time they're done. This would be 6 to 8 full-credit classes a year. Homeschoolers have a little more flexibility in scheduling, but I recommend listing at least 24 classes, and no more than 32 classes, on a transcript. Less than 24 may make your student look lazy, more than 32 makes you look dishonest.

As a rule of thumb, each full credit (1 Carnegie credit) course entails one hour of work a day, for 180 days a year. Since we're homeschoolers who can spend more concentrated hours on learning, anywhere from about 130 hours to 180 hours is fine. Do you have to run around with a stopwatch counting hours? No. There are several ways to determine the amount of credit a course receives:

Completing a text:
If the course is a typical full-year course, and you're using a text for the course, consider it completed when your student finishes the text and any other requirements you've set for the course (tests, papers, whatever).

Completing a contract:
Whether you construct a course as a semester (.5 credit) or full-year (1 credit) course, and don't use a text, consider writing a contract for you and your student. If the student completes specific learning tasks for the course (reading a certain number of books, doing interviews, writing papers, discussing progress, whatever), the student will receive credit for the course.

Counting hours:
Sometimes you may find that counting hours is the best method for a course. For a Music credit, for example, the student can keep track of the hours spent on lessons with his piano teacher, daily practice, and concerts. Once he reaches 130 (or whatever you set), then he's earned a credit.

Mastering the material:
Many times the best way to give credit for a course is when a student masters the material, regardless of time spent, or materials used. I knew my son mastered his study of Mythology when he scored high enough to receive a medal on the very rigorous Medusa Mythology Exam. It's an internationally standardized exam taken by high school students from around the world. I knew what the average score was for that year's exam, and saw what my son scored after his self-study of Mythology, and I knew he had earned his credit based on his mastery of the material. Mythology courses are typically given a semester's credit at most high schools, so that's what I gave him.

Use a public high school syllabus:
Search for a syllabus on the internet (just google keywords such as "high school US history syllabus" or "high school Biology course"). You'll get examples of the way different high schools construct the specific course you're googling and how much credit they award. This will give you an idea of whether you're requiring enough work, or too much, from your student.

Ask other homeschoolers for help:
This is a very good way to help you with assigning credits (and grades). Just ask other experienced high school homeschooling moms to help you determine what would constitute a credit. You may not agree with them, but their ideas will give you a place to start.

I hope this gives you an idea of how to grant credit for courses. Hopefully others will jump in with more suggestions. :smile2:

Dianna

[SuzinTR]

Thank you, Dianna, I appreciate your thoughts and ideas.