Compiling Homeschool Grades – Not An Easy Task

It feels so good to be able to write this sentence: we are done with school for this year. All the lessons have been read, all the tests have been completed.

All that remains is compiling the grades.

Do I Have To?

There are many different schools of thought when it comes to grading for homeschoolers. And depending on where you live, laws that dictate how you go about giving grades or not. For me, I choose to submit grades to show proof of learning as well as explain the resources we use. I find this option better than the other options available in my state.

There are no real standard guidelines on how to set about calculating these grades though. The curriculum we use does come with recommendations, but they are quite different one from another. And I prefer to stay with a standard format across all subjects. So I follow a 50/30/20 split. With 50% of the grade coming from doing the work, the daily assignments, and small tasks. 30% of the grade coming from small quizzes, experiments, and presentations. And the last 20% coming from tests.

During the school year, I stay on top of checking things out. Seeing what the kids are doing, how well (or not so well) they are learning a subject or skill, and making sure there aren’t any questions they still have. I always review their work and assignments before a quiz or test and go over any areas that need it. And I try to make sure that tests and quizzes are graded as soon as possible so if there is an area that is lacking we can review it before moving on to something new.

But compiling all those grades is where I struggle. A lot.

I Don’t Really Want To

And this year, I just don’t really want to. Childish perhaps, but oh well. I know I need to. I know that the sooner I sit down and record and calculate the sooner I can send in my required reports and be done with this year. It just seems so futile though.

It really seems like a waste of time. I know they learned. I know where they struggled. We worked together every single day from August until June on different lessons, skills, tasks, and assignments. We studied, and learned, and reviewed together.

The kids are currently enjoying some much needed time away from books. But my pile of unfinished work still sits there, beckoning me. Reminding me every day that I still need to finish it.

The Root of The Problem

The real problem is that I am just as ready to be done with school as the kids. Since somewhere in mid-March I have been ready to be done with this year. My summer to-do list started piling up with projects and plans. My brain started switching gears a little too early, and even though the kids have completed their tasks, mine are still sitting there ready to complete.

It’s not hard either. Just time-consuming. I grade with pen and paper, a different printed off spreadsheet for each child and each subject. I had actually planned to work on some of the grading today, but found other things to justify my time with.

And as much as I don’t want to. As much as I would rather work on a different task, something not school related, I just can’t bring myself to assign random grades either. No A’s or B’s around here. I am too much of a perfectionist to allow for anything other than a number grade, an earned number grade based on work completed rather than my own interpretation of how well they did.

The Stigma

Part of it is all based on the stigma that still surrounds homeschooling. See, I can know just how well my kids are learning. Know if they are on par for their grade or with their peers. But it just doesn’t feel like it’s enough. I need to justify the learning my kids are doing because there is a part of me that is still in the public school mindset.

Oh, and there may be a healthy dose of competition in there.

Because as much of a free spirit and rebel attitude a homeschool family needs, there is also a need to justify. I can’t just know that the kids are doing well, I need to be able to prove it. I took on the responsibility to educate the children, and I don’t want anyone to ever come back and say I failed. I don’t want my kids to look back and wonder if I did my best to educate them.

So maybe tomorrow I will get started. Maybe it won’t be until next week. My reports are not due until the end of the month, so I still have time to compile and average. Time to make sure my calculations are correct and that both the grade and report accurately and honestly represent what we completed this year.

The kids deserve at least that – because they did work hard. They worked hard, they learned a lot, they pushed through when the assignments seemed too much, the lessons just too challenging. Because the most important lesson I want them to learn is to never give up, never give in, and never quit.

How do you calculate the end of the year results? Comment below!

Looking for a clean and simple way to track your student’s grades? Download my FREE PDF document here.