Dear Carrie
Weighted Grading for Foerster’s Algebra
We are starting our first year of high school, and we are so excited to be using Heart of Dakota (HOD)! Weighted grading, however, is brand new to me. I really appreciate the weighted grading instructions provided in the World Geography guide. What a tremendous help! I know there are multiple math options for Algebra I, so I understand why the guide says to refer to the math text for grading. However, I looked at the Foerster’s text, and I am still at a loss on how to grade it. Any help is appreciated! Specifically, I am wondering what you would suggest for weighted grading in Foerster’s Algebra? Thanks in advance, Carrie!
Sincerely,
“Ms. Please Help Me with Weighted Grading of Foerster’s Algebra”
Dear “Ms. Please Help Me with Weighted Grading of Foerster’s Algebra,”
At the high school level, the way that you weight your grades can vary widely. Almost any combination of daily work, reviews, and assessment grading will work. For example, you could use daily work as 50 percent of the weighted grade, or you could change that percentage up or down. Daily work can just be earned by effort and completion (and correcting one’s mistakes). This is because quite often in daily work the material is new, and as students are trying to learn new concepts they often falter. So, grading students first efforts at something new is not a true grade.
At the high school level, I’d lean toward a weighted grading of 30 percent for tests and 20 percent for reviews.
Next, let’s consider how to handle weighted grading for tests and reviews. At the high school level, completion of chapter reviews often takes up a portion of the assessment grade. So, I might lean toward 20 percent for chapter reviews and 30 percent for tests. Again, these percentages can be changed up or down.
Open-book testing is another grading option used in high school and in college.
Another option that is used for grading with increasing frequency is for tests to be open-book. Or, instead you might allow your student to write down on an index card any helpful formulas or notes to be used during the test. This was something that was done in my college math classes. I learned to write very small!
Weighted grading varies greatly and is the instructor’s prerogative.
Even at the college level, where tests are weighted much more heavily, there is quite a bit of variation as to how much other output students are required to complete for the rest of their grade. Some courses are almost wholly test-based, and others split the grading out more with a large amount of other output. My oldest son’s college classes have varied widely in how the grading is weighted. It is often the instructor’s prerogative. Since you are the instructor, your prerogative reigns. You just need to be able to justify how you arrived at the grade.
Blessings,
Carrie
