I'm debating whether to do this. I even bought a grade book. I don't know whether to start doing real "grades' or just focus on understanding of material.

Any thoughts appreciated.

we do grades because my son wants report cards.   I think it all depends on the child(ren).

Stacy

I think it depends on the grade level too.

For K & lower elementary you could do without them. Some of the schools around here just use O = outstanding, S = satisfactory, N = needs improvement.

We focus on understanding of the material so if the student does very poorly on a test, that tells me we need to focus on the material again and do it over. Since I track the grades, I have the liberty of doing that. :-)

Certainly once we get into junior high/high school the standards will have to be higher. I don't anticipate any do-overs at that level.

But again this is a personal preference (depending on what state you're in and their requirements).

Char

If I did grades, they would all be A+, because we don't stop learning something until it is mastered. I don't ever leave wrong answers in the math workbook, or unfinished work, or anthing like that. We simply stick with it until it is 100%. So, no, I don't give grades. I give stickers and stamps instead. :)

Also, our curriculum is steeped in literature. Giving grades on oral and written narration is simple: she either knows the material, or she doesn't. French, Latin, art, composer study....none of those are suited for grading. At least, not for a 9 year-old.

In the beginning, my daughter wanted to know her grade. Now, she never asks.

This depends on the age, and the child.  In the early days (we've started our 5th year), my son was a serious perfectionist and wanted 100's on everything, even though our curriculum is mastery-based.  So I gave, and still do, percentage grades.  Then I translate them to letter grades for a report card for the file.  The offical report card helps with incentives at businesses - free movie rentals, free books, free food, free arcade games, etc.

I keep grades in Excel, as doing things on the pc is soooo much easier for me.  I don't like static, paper items, I want a pc file that lives - LOL!  I'm also very visual and have to have the colors - all our subjects are color-coded.

JCC

What are Junior Great Books?

I do grades based on percentages for my one who is headed for college.  The other two will not accept anything but a 100% so we work on it until they get it right.  That is why we homeschool, so we can do what works!

LaDonna

I give grades, but only for high school level work.  Well, I don't GIVE the grades, they EARN them! 

I issue grades for high school level work and I keep a "transcript" record.  I think this is a good idea if your child(ren) plan to attend a college in the future.  As much as possible, I issue grades based on objective evaluations - quizzes, tests, or points earned for completing projects.

I don't do anything with grades for the younger children.

eta:  It does depend to some degree on your state requirements.  Our state (MI) does not require documentation or evaluation.  I keep records for my own purposes.

I do grade my child's work, but he hardly ever misses anything.  Usually if he has a problem while doing it, I help him.
He likes getting grades though - it is important to him.

I'm alot like Kristi...we work together on the tough stuff, so there are very few 'missed' problems.  However, that being said, there are many days when I will give the instructions and he's just goofing off when I do it and I warn him I'm only gonna give the directions once....you have to read them after that.  So if he messes up cuz he doesn't read the directions or listen to them, then he gets some wrong.  Sometimes, I will also help him on the first couple of 'problems' and let him go on the others, just to see what he's really getting or not getting. 

I always 'grade' the papers and it is a straight scale:  30 problems, 30 points, etc.  So at the top of the page I will mark the date and then 28/30 or whatever.  I also circle the ones he got wrong on a page and if it's something that I really think he's having trouble with we either do it again, and staple the page to the original worksheet, OR I will make a note to myself to do a practice sheet of the missed problems the next day.  (For instance, if it's math problems, I will make up some practice problems covering the same material.  Or if it's writing or vocabulary type of stuff, I make a page where he practices writing those words or letters.)

I too have things done in Excel...a very simple spreadsheet to keep track of grades.   Mostly I do this for our extended family (who are mostly teachers) so that when they ask how the grades are, I can honestly tell them he's getting all A's!  LOL  Now, I know that as he gets older, things will be more strict and structured in the grading department...with tests and such.  But for now (he's in 1st grade!) this is how we do it.

We give grades in most subjects.  My dh believes they are important and my ds likes getting a report card.  We grades tests, when they aren't built in I chose certain portions to grade when I am making lesson plans.  We used Abeka for 3 years so most of the grading was built in.  Some of the grading reflects attitude, for instance, in spelling I count each missed word as 3 points off.  It shows if he does not put in the extra time I ask of him to review his spelling words in the evening.  I guess accountability is factored into that.  My ds is almost 10.

For subjects that are hard to grade, like art, music, and reading I use some rubrics I developed from diff places.  You could google grading rubrics to get a idea of how they might work for you. 

The first year we did grade cards 4x per year but it felt like I was grading too many things to get a good average.  This year we are only doing grade cards 2x. That way the grade will be more reflective of a true average.

We had grades because we were enrolled in a homeschool program (Christian Liberty Academy) and they issued report cards.  Our girls were so stuck on their grades it was wasn't healthy.  A product of the public school system (the 2 oldest went thru 2 and 4th grades in public school before we homeschooled).

We strong taught and emphasized to them that - they were not their grades - their success in learning was not their grades - their ability and intelligence were not their grades.  Their grades were only a thermometer to show us what we needed to work on more.  We were having school to learn and to love doing it - not to get a certain grade.  If they did their very best and learned to the best of their abilities that is what was important.  After about 6 months they calmed down and focused on learning not getting a grade.

I don't. My kids are 14, 11, 10, 3 and 5 months. I think it's more important for them to learn the material than to do it just to get an A. We stay on something as long as it takes for them to really understand it.

Yes we give grades.

I don't give grades because we don't move on until the material is all mastered, so it's really  not an issue for us.  My son has friends in public school and he got "grade-fever' from them and he was insistent that he got A+ all the time so that's even more reason for me to not give grades.  I want him to focus on the joy of learning and not the anxiety of his grades.  I'm not required to submit grades to the state so I don't even worry about it.

If the time comes when I need to submit a report card for some activity or such, I will, but it won't be one my son sees.

Keep in mind you'll need to do grades for a high school transcript.  Colleges will consider merit-based scholarships for your kids based on those grades.