Jan. 17, 2008
Question for you Homeschoolers
Posted in School
How do you handle grading when you have multi-level children taking the same subject? I don't run into this very often, but this week we took the Semester test for Mystery of History 2. The 7th grader did quite well, with a 94. I was impressed, especially since he did it at the church office with Dad which meant he had no book or notebook to use for the open book parts. The 4th grader scored an 81, which I "curved" to an 88 taking a couple of bonus questions into consideration. She didn't use the book either except on one of the early sections, so I was equally impressed. I had heard her say "I bet I won't get a 94" so I knew she was comparing herself to him. She seemed a little crest-fallen, and I wondered what I should have done differently. Any suggestions? We don't do alot of grades anymore, so I think this one stung more than it would if grades were handed out daily. (I check their work but I don't necessarily label everything with a grade. We correct the things that are wrong. I do score math tests regularly.)
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Jan. 18, 2008 - Untitled Comment
 Posted by Michelle32
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Well, I offer a chance of redemption!
i.e. Math. Our kid misses 3 out of 10 and I ask him to do the missed ones on the board so I can see where he went astray and reteach the material a bit. On the board, he did the problems correctly, catching his own (careless) mistakes. So, he redeemed his grade to an A. Simple as that.
If he'd missed them again, then I'd reteach and the grade would stand until an alternate math test could be taken. The 2nd test grade would stand. If the child wants a higher score, can they not have another chance to study and retake a test? In my book, sure! Why, because I really want them to GET it. Not just slide by and move on when they didn't really master the material. It's very gratifying to do well. In the HS setting, we can study and learn to our heart's content.
Also, some people are better test takers than others!
HTH,
Michelle32
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Jan. 19, 2008 - Untitled Comment
 Posted by 5atkins
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I am also using MOH with multilevel, but mine are so close in age that they score pretty much the same. I like the suggestion of letting them "retake" the parts they miss, but sometimes, by process of elimination, they now know the answer because they know what isn't right.
This won't help with this test, but maybe in the future you could make certain questions exempt or purely bonus to make the test more grade level appropriate. Or assign a related activity to earn bonus points.
As of right now, my youngest is only required to listen and participate as she desires, but this is helpful for me to think about the future when she is able to read the tests!
Tough call! I hope you figure out what will work for your family! :)
In Christ, Eva
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