Homeschooling is on the rise and with it come specific grading requirements, guidelines and expectations. Parents who want their children to be taught adequately, for high quality work and that their children be rewarded with proper assessment must understand how homeschool grading works. It’s tough to tackle homeschool grading alone, so parents must be knowledgeable on the grading process and strive to be equitable, accurate and inclusive.
What Makes Homeschool Gradings Different?
Homeschooling looks different from traditional school, so it is no surprise that the grading process is slightly different. One of the key differences is the teacher’s role — homeschooling parents have to assess their children ’s academic performance themselves. This means they are in charge of the assessment and grades earned in their homeschool.
Parents can use standard methods to assess student’s performance, such as tests, in-depth grading on assignments or portfolios grading. Some homeschool parents might also opt to use other assessment methods based on their homeschooling principles and style.
Another important difference between traditional school and homeschool grading is that many states do not allow homeschools to use any official grade transcripts, keeping parents from recording grades in an official document. In addition, homeschoolers typically don’t transition their children from one grade to another like in traditional school. Instead, children in homeschooling programs can be in the same grade for many years, opting to learn at their own pace.
That is why it’s often difficult to compare homeschool children with children in a traditional school setting. Still, homeschool grading does offer parents many benefits like giving flexibility for students to learn in the way that works best for them.
What Are Some Common Members of Homeschool Grading?
Assessment and evaluation are two main components of homeschool grading. For an effective assessment, parents should focus on their children’s strengths and weaknesses, academic needs and the focus of the learning materials.
Parents should determine how the assessment will be conducted and be aware of the best way to evaluate the student’s performance. Once the assessment is completed, parents should decide how to record the results. Many homeschoolers opt to simply use a notes/journal with thoughts and observations, while others might use a more complicated grading system.
A common grading system used by homeschoolers is the use of distinct letter grades or percentages. This system has its pros and cons, including the fact that it may limit the educational experience of individual pupils.
On the other hand, using letter grades makes it easier to compare homeschoolers to those in traditional schools. Some homeschoolers work around this issue by awarding “passes” and “fails” instead of numerical values. This system offers more freedom and is more flexible for individual students.
Another popular way for homeschooling parents to report their children’s progress is through the use of portfolios. Portfolio grading involves not only the completion and grading of certain assignments, but also compiling a collection of student work that highlights the progress and achievements of their children. Homeschoolers often use portfolios because it shows the progress of their students accurately, offers a score of where they currently are and provides evidence that their children are advancing academically.
What Are Key Components to Consider When Grading?
Parents must always keep in mind that when it comes to homeschool grading, fairness and consistency are key elements. When grading, all students must be compared and evaluated the same way and parents should strive to be consistent and equitable.
Parents must also remain objective and avoid comparing their children to other homeschoolers or children in traditional schools, since each student and strategy is different. Additionally, parents should remember that homeschool grading should not be a punitive measure, but rather an opportunity to enhance learning and give students feedback and direction. Grading assessment should inform and motivate students, not to punish them for their mistakes.
To achieve this, parents must give honest and constructive feedback to their children and focus on the positive outcomes of assessments. Finally, parents should be open to discussing their homeschool grading system with their children, so that the students understand what their parents look for when grading and so that their efforts are appreciated.
Homeschool grading should also be written down, when possible, to ensure that the parents can keep track of their children’s progress and performance. Parents should also keep in mind that since homeschooling is largely a self-managed system, they should always put in the effort of keeping themselves informed and knowledgeable on this process to ensure the best educational results for their children.
Conclusion
Homeschool grading is not entirely different from traditional school grading. With the right strategies, information and resources, parents can handle homeschool grading properly.
To do this, parents must remember to be fair, objective and consistent in the assessment of their children’s performance, look to give honest feedback and focus on their progress instead of punishing them for their mistakes. Staying informed is also important to ensure that the children get the best educational experience possible.