“Do you give grades in homeschool?”

That innocent question from a new homeschool mom on a message board set off a round of debate. Some said “Yes” because it helps the student get ready for other school situations that do grade.  Others said “no” because grades are not the best way to judge competence. As in most things, both sides could learn a lot by listening to each other.

In favor of grades:

Outside of the homeschool world, grades are used throughout education. I think it can be good for students to have the experience of grades and all that goes into them. For one thing, grades are earned based on completing work on time as directed - the same expectations that exist in the real world, grownup work place. Also, students rarely get a second chance or a do-over on an assignment. Time management, strong work ethic, perseverance, and following directions are all skills that can benefit from traditional grading.

In favor of no grades:

As a homeschooler, you have to ask what grades would mean. What would it tell you about your child’s strengths, weaknesses, and mastery of concepts? Since most homeschoolers take the time to work with their child until any lessons are mastered and completed, what would you grade? The first attempt? The final version? Amount of effort? Demonstration of mastery? There are too many other ways for us to see what our children have learned and understood from a lesson, or even the whole year, to have that all reduced to a single grade. Portfolios, projects, and observations all do the job better.

What we do here:

My son likes grades. He likes A’s. So, I grade all his work, but allow infinite re-do’s. If he’s struggling, the re-do’s come with re-teaching and support. If he made a simple mistake, he rarely makes it a second time. If he simply wasn’t putting forth his best effort, then re-do’s are required. He’s learned that trying your best the first time, following directions and asking for help actually takes less time that racing through everything just to get it done.

I like portfolios with work samples and notes to myself about how each lesson went. He gets a report card every time his sister brings one home from her public school; but if you ask me how he’s doing, I’ll proudly share his portfolio. There are work samples in there from his entire academic life. He’s also been lucky to have caring teachers in public school who made an effort to send me observations for his portfolio. They included notes on his strengths and weakness, of course, but they also shared tricks and techniques that were effective. Those notes have helped me help my son many, many times. And, they make it clear that this is the most valid assessment method for us.