gradelevels Archives - Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Are grading systems really necessary for homeschool families? How can you accurately demonstrate progress and comprehension without using grades? How do you determine a homeschool grading system?

Let’s take a look at some alternatives to the standard letter grading systems used in traditional schools.

Age and ability obviously can make a difference and factor into our homeschool evaluations. For that reason, these ideas are categorized by age level.

Early Years Homeschool Grading System

When talking to homeschool moms, the consensus on grades for the early years is — no grades at all! It’s not really necessary for the littlest learners to be graded on any kind of formal scale.

The most important thing to keep in mind during the early years is to instill that love of learning, encourage curiosity, and cover the basics.

Ideas for tracking progress include:

Use tests when necessary, but only as a means to see areas that need work, not as a measurement of success or failure
Review work, such as math and spelling, until they achieve mastery
Incentives such as stickers earned or recording number of books read in a reading log

Grade System for Homeschooling Middle Years

Many homeschool families use these middle years as a time of transition to more independent work for their kids so they begin using a grading system as a means of feedback.

Ideas for tracking progress include:

4 point rubric (satisfactory, needs improvement, unsatisfactory, excellent)
Percentage points grading scale, especially for spelling and math
No grades, but reviewing and correcting work until it is 100% understood and accurate

Look here at Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You on my 7 Step Homeschool Planner to find my free grading charts and grading keepers.

High School Years: Homeschool Grades Matter

Whether your child is choosing a career or college track can make a difference in the grading system for the high school years.

If you’re preparing a transcript for college admission, sometimes standard grades are the only choice.

Most of the ideas that work for the middle years also work in the high school years, so bear that in mind.

There are a few others that can be used as your kids demonstrate their maturity and ability to handle the responsibility.

How to Determine an EZ Homeschool Grading System. Are grading systems really necessary for homeschool families? How can you accurately demonstrate progress and comprehension without using grades? How do you determine a homeschool grading system?

Ideas for tracking progress include:

Allow the teen to grade themselves so they take responsibility for their education and their work
Take online courses with built-in review and grading
Standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT

Of course, it’s perfectly acceptable to enjoy the freedom of homeschooling and forgo any kind of grading system.

Once again, it’s always best to do what works for your family and what is required by the state you live in.

You’ll love these other tips

Hugs and love ya,

Besides answering questions to relatives about what my kids have been learning and no I don’t mean the kind of genuine questions where my extended family is interested, but the kind where they think they can quiz my kids to find out if they are truly learning, there is one question dreaded more by my kids.

The one question homeschooled kids dread answering is what grade they are in. And when my kids shrug their shoulders and answer with, “I don’t know”, that just gives the relatives one more thing to bristle about.

When kids have not been exposed to public school grade levels and they have not learned to keep pace with a grade level, they really don’t know what grade they are in and guess what? Most kids don’t care.

As my kids have grown older and see the shrieks of terror on some adult’s faces because my kids have no idea what grade they are, my kids try to reply as best they can.

When Mr. Senior 2013 was in fourth grade and without any prodding from me, he replied, “Which subject?” The reply made complete sense to me.

I learned a few things from that encounter:

It was probably best to prepare my kids for questions like that because most people are asking just to be polite;

It was a reminder to me that I had released myself from the bondage of graded level learning because my kids were all over the place in each subject and it was a good feeling;

That my kids were being allowed to learn at their own pace;

That I did recognize the differences in each of my kids because they were accomplishing skills at different grade levels; and

That if I had to reply to it I probably would have to say something like he is in 9th grade reading, 7th grade grammar, 8th grade math, 7th grade writing. .. oh my!

Through the years, I have found it better to reply with a more general reply like he is in middle school or high school.

Too, I find a more general reply avoids a lot of confusion even for my sons. For example, we may have started a new curriculum mid-year and my sons may reply they are in one grade level for that year and then still be in that same grade level the beginning of the next year.

To avoid my kids feeling confused, which are the only ones I am concerned about when answering that question, I just have them reply in generalities by saying middle school or elementary school. The kids understand there are about 3 or 4 grades considered for any level, even high school.

Sometimes, the boys reply by saying their age and then the adult can figure it out on their own.

Besides how many people would understand that you may be starting pre-algebra with a 11 year old or a 5th grader reading high school level literature?

How about you? Do your kids know which grade they are in?

Hugs and love ya,