When people ask what kind of grades my kids get on tests, they often look at me like I’m a crazy person when I respond, “Oh, we don’t do grades.” While I know I am not alone, I also do know a lot of homeschool parents do still choose to test and grade their children’s work. While I’m glad that works well for them, it is NOT a decision that I made for our family.
To be completely honest I believe that grades and tests, even in the public school system are a complete waste of time. Maybe I’m crazy, maybe I’m not. But I would like to share with you my reasonings before you decide. And, as always, feel free to share your own opinions in the comment section. I love hearing them!
"Tests" Do Not Generally Indicate True Knowledge
Story time! I was a straight A student. I got excellent grades in school. But did I really learn? Nope. The reason? I was good at tests. My elementary school did an excellent job at teaching test taking skills. As a matter of fact, when I went to college I tested into a fairly high level grammar class. I did not actually understand half of the questions on the test. I had no idea what they were asking me, but I was so good at taking tests I got into the higher level class. Then I almost failed the class because I had NO idea what was happening in there.
The opposite is also true. Some kids aren’t good at tests. Maybe they struggle to stay focused for an extended period of time, they struggle with test anxiety, or they simply mark the wrong “bubble” on accident.
In addition, tests are easy to “cram” for the night prior. We’ve all been there, pulling an all-nighter to gather every piece of information possible before the test. But three days later, most of the information has been completely forgotten.
These are the main reasons I don’t do tests.
"Grades" Aren't Needed For Homeschool
Do you know grades weren’t always part of education? In fact, according to schools.archmil.org grading systems were not at all common until the Industrial Revolution during the mid to late 1800s.
Prior to that time, teachers used a “pass, fail” system in which students (you guessed it), either passed or failed. Teachers would take on small groups of students and had a personal relationship with each and every one of them. They knew the students, knew what they understood, and made the decision accordingly.
During the Industrial Revolution, however, the educational system underwent a big change. Rather than paying by salary, many teachers began to be paid based on the number of students under their charge. Of course, more students means less of personal knowledge of each student. As a result, a man by the name of William Farish invented a way to increase his ability to teach a larger number of students. The invention? Grades.
Farish himself, however, admitted that while the system greatly increased his salary, it created a disadvantage for students who did not align with that teaching and grading style.
What does any of this have to do with homeschooling? It doesn’t. That’s my point. As homeschooling parents, there is absolutely NO reason we should ever need to grade our students because we have that close relationship that existed under Thomas Jefferson’s educational method. In all honesty, our relationship should be much closer than it was for educators of that time. As such, it should be simple for us to recognize what our children know or don’t know. We don’t need to use an “assembly-line” method of education that “punishes the different,” as has been said about Farish’s model of grading.
As homeschoolers we have the ability to work with our kids individually and to know their strengths and weaknesses. As such, I have no desire to copy the public school way of grading.
How Will Our Kids Learn To Take Tests If We Don't Utilize Them?
Obviously, our kids will eventually need to know how tests work, right? Unfortunately, due to the world in which we live, yes, I’m sure test-taking is a skill they are going to need. So, what do I do about it? We take tests for “fun” and for “placement” purposes.
In our state, homeschoolers must turn in a portfolio review OR a standardized assessment annually. Because I am very unorganized, the thought of a portfolio gives me a tremendous amount of anxiety, so I go the assessment option. I don’t mention the test at all for a majority of the year. The day before testing I say something like this,
“Hey guess what! Tomorrow is test day! That means we are going to take some time to answer some questions on the computer to find out what you know and what you don’t know. On this test, it’s actually okay to guess the answers. If you know the answer, that’s great, just mark it. If you aren’t sure, here are some ways to help.”
I then quickly go over a few test taking strategies (process of elimination, common sense, go with your gut, and if all else fails, choose c).
We also utilize placement tests when we are trying a new curriculum and sometimes just for fun. During these tests my “speech” is a bit different. It looks more like this:
“Hey, so we are going to take a short placement test to see what you know and what you don’t know. I don’t want you to guess on this one. If you really don’t know how to do the problem at all, tell me, and I’ll purposely mark one wrong. That way we know that we need to go back over that problem. If you’re pretty sure you know though, go ahead and mark what you think.”
In my opinion, introducing tests on rare occasion in such a non-cholent way helps relieve test taking anxiety, while still ensuring the kids know that tests don’t define who they are or what they’re good at.
What Do We Do Instead of Grading Work?
Since we don’t do tests or grade work, a lot of people ask me how I know if they are truly learning the material. It’s simple, I ask them to explain to me, or show me in their own words. If we are learning long division, for example, if they can do four or five problems correctly and with confidence, it tells me that they understand the concept. At that point, we generally move on to the next topic. For history or science, I may ask for a Charlotte Mason style “narration,” in which they summarize what they read either verbally or in writing.
By not allowing multiple choice answers, I believe this to be a much more accurate representation of the child’s understanding. Cramming isn’t possible as it’s a constant, “Show me,” or, “Tell me.” And almost every concept eventually comes back up, and if we realize that they’ve forgotten some of what they learned before, we just take a step back, and review it.
Having an intimate knowledge of what my kids know and understand helps me cater to their learning styles, and doesn’t punish them for not being good “test-takers.”