Why are home school parents so opposed to grades?

Question

I home school my two boys. We don't really use grades other than for Math and Spelling. Just wondering how you all feel about it.

Thanks

Answer 1

I'm not opposed to grades, we just don't have a need for grades with our curriculum.   If he is learning, he is passing.   It would be different if I had more than one student or if I had a curriculum that had a built in grading system.  

I can see how some parents and students would find grades helpful.  

I don't feel strongly one way or another about grading in home school.

Answer 2

We grade everything often. It's not really extra useful, since the nature of being involved is that you know what the children know. But my children enjoy the grades and they feel like they have accomplished something when they earn a good grade. Likewise a poor grade can be motivating.

Answer 3

I'd say it isn't homeschooling parents per se who are opposed to grades but unschooling parents (like mine!).

Answer 4

I just feel like it's unnecessary in a homeschool setting, whereas in a classroom with a student/teacher ratio of 30:1, it is a useful tool for keeping track of both the students' and the teacher's success.

I've never used grades..  We go over what they've done together, find mistakes together, and go about correcting them and learning from them.

To me a grade is just so final.  It says "here is what you're worth."  But if learning is an ongoing process, there is no need for such finality.

Answer 5

I grade everything! I am one of those parents that needs to know exactly my kids are doing in each area.

Answer 6

If you mean grade level, it is because we don't stick to one grade. We move at whatever pace fits us in any given subject. If you mean letter grades, it is personally because my child perfects every subject before moving on. There is no point to giving a grade of "D" or "C' when you are not forced to move on for the sake of the class. We stick with a given lesson, until we have an "A" in everything.

   Sahara, why do you assume the homeschool children are not enjoying the company of other children on a regular basis? This is a typical, unfounded concern.

Answer 7

Like others have said, they aren't necessary. We unschool which is a theory where grading just doesn't fit in. My kids don't hand in worksheets and saying "I saw you making detailed notes of life in the lake when we went canoeing the other day so I'll give you an A in science." just seems silly. Grades put way too much pressure on kids.

Answer 8

It may be because they aren't really needed. You know where the kids stand academically, in terms of learning. You can move at their pace. Really, it seems pretty good.

But do the kids get to play with other kids? Are they involved in activities with other kids?

Answer 9

I "grade" papers in order to show the child where we need to go back and make corrections. I do not keep a grade book though. They don't like even seeing X's on papers, so that's great motivation in itself.

Sahara asked a question and I do not believe she meant to be insulting, lets show a little grace people.

Yes, our kids are involved in several activities in the community, in clubs and in sports. They actually have more time to socialize then kids in schools because we usually are done much earlier. Plus, the home schoolers in our community are very close and everyone watches out for each others kids. They are taught by example of their parents and other trusted adults on issues such as manners and respect (something the public schools lack).

Answer 10

Glurpy, In fact Artistotle and Plato did have grades. In fact Plato may be the person who first conceptualized "grades". And while here in the US we did not start giving grades in an official capacity, like a transcript, the early settlers brought their texts for there children and they were graded on them. You needed to earn a passing grade to move to a new text.

Here is a link to a peice on  Plato, it is short and includes info on the type of grades they had.

http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/ls201/gre...

Answer 11

We don't use grades either. There's no need really.

A better question might be: why did people start using grades? Do you think Aristotle and Plato had grades? Any of the people privately tutored throughout history before the advent of public schools? No. The focus is on teaching and learning. You can assess without giving grades and giving grades doesn't really provide more information that what you already know. Only schools started using grades; those who were educated prior to that were not given grades.

The homeschoolers I know who don't use grades share the same sort of philosophy: what's the point? They also tend to strongly agree with Alfie Kohn. I do know some who do use grades, though, but they tend to follow a fairly school-like approach.

Answer 12

I believe they are totally unnecessary since I know what my children know and what they need to work on.  Having said that, I still have to give letter grades in math and tests because my son begs for a letter.  (ugh) So we use the standard 100-93, 92-85, etc. scale for grading.

Answer 13

I am not opposed to grades.  Especially with subjects like Math, assigning a letter grade based on a percentage can give me a good idea of how my child is doing.  My only problem with grades is if someone uses them as the only measure of learning.  The letter grade my child gets can not reflect all that they learn when they read library books, go on nature walks, or design a model all by themselves.  

I do issue grades, but when it comes to grades K-6, for some subjects eager participation = A.  For Junior High and High School I grade traditionally in all subjects to get the kids prepared for that type of evaluation in college.

Answer 14

I'm opposed to grades right now because I don't want to place external values on the learning process of my children. There really is no point, when grades were merely created to help teachers cope with the very large numbers of students they are dealing with.

Basically, teachers cannot know each of their students well enough to innately know where their learning is, so they must give tests and homework. This isn't an issue for someone who is teaching one or two children...and besides, if your child isn't achieving an 'A', then you wouldn't just say "Good enough", you'd revisit as much as possible to master the knowledge. Schools can't do that because they must stay on a schedule to finish learning x, y, and z before the kids move on to another level.

One of my favorite bumper stickers "Grades are for eggs and meat"...meaning that it implies worth and value, and that's not how people should be treated.