Grades.

We homeschoolers hate to give them.  Hate to deal with them.  Hate to even think about them.

Frankly, they scare us.

They scare us because we don’t understand them.  At all.

We’re pretty sure our public school counterparts have some secret formula that makes the grades they give perfect and thus, more legitimate than anything we could formulate ourselves.

But, let’s think logically about this for a second…

Who knows our child and his abilities the best?

Who knows if our child has truly mastered the material he is studying?

Who knows if all his work is complete?

We do!  That right there qualifies us to give grades!

Grading is not some big mystery only state-certified school teachers know.  Grades are the letter or numeric value given to the work that is done.  That is all.

You can do this!

Here’s how:

1. Unless your state requires it, refrain from giving grades prior to junior high and high school. We actually wait until the child is doing high school level work to keep a grade.  The reason we can do this is because as homeschoolers, we expect MASTERY…every single time, every single subject.  Mastery means an A.  I wouldn’t allow anything less!

2. Tests are NOT the be all end all. We think they are, but they aren’t.  Institutionalized schoolhouses factor in daily work, class attendance, class participation, etc.  Tests are only part of the equation.  But again, as homeschoolers, we expect mastery…that’s an A or a B, at the very least.  If they aren’t getting A’s and B’s on  their tests, then more than likely, you are going to have them redo the test and possibly even re-LEARN the section they struggled with.

3. Keep a notebook. I do not have a gradebook.  I have a notebook.  When my oldest started doing high school level work, I wrote down the subject name and left a blank beside it.  When those courses are finished, I will go back and fill in the grade beside it.  That way I have a handy guide to all his grades when it is time to put together a transcript.  With a notebook you are also able to write notes to yourself about what all was involved in the course of study.  That will help you come up with a good name for the course when you go to write up a transcript.

4. Have the child keep track of scores. Blake keeps a sheet that lists all his grades for Teaching Textbooks.  I check in with him from time to time to see how he is doing.  He ALWAYS redoes anything that isn’t an A.  Again, we are looking for mastery.

5. Be confident. If your child did the work, worked hard, completed the course, mastered the subject, then he or she deserves an A, and at the very least a B.  Just because you don’t have a neat grading book like Mrs. K from 3rd grade had does not make your grades less legitimate.  It’s not cheating.

Bottom line is…

You can do this!