grades? - Page 2

[zjande]

Well, we always do grades. My DS is in 5th (my others are too old or young to be in grades...). He writes at about a typical 5th grade level, but does math at about 8th. I'm grateful to curriculum manufacturers that label all their curricula with grade levels otherwise it takes me forever to figure out what to purchase for him! Also, it is very helpful for me to look up what the average student in his grade is doing in school to help me ensure I'm not missing anything. I use books like "Home Learning Year by Year" & the like to plan my homeschool years. I do understand & agree with much of what PP's are saying, but I'd personally feel lost without grade levels.

[kittywitty]

I don't use them. I used to think nothing of it until I had a "gifted" child who never uses grade level anything. Now we are unschooling and so it's just more artificial. I think age wise I have a 2nd, 1st, and preschooler right now. But it doesn't matter. We get books all the time that say "grades 1-4" or "4-8" and that doesn't usually tell me anything about what's in them, honestly.

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by Phantaja

I don't homeschool, but I'm asking out of pure curiosity. If you don't use "grades" then how do you know when you're done?

by age? or by standardized testing?

My son is 14 and he tested a few years above grade level on the CAT/5 this spring. He tested mostly in 12th grade as far as his level in all core subjects. Ofcourse he is only in middle school and I have no intention of graduating him now and trying to send him off to college but by the time he is 16/17 years old we will be thinking about being done.

[sweetstephanie]

We don't use grades. I have four kids that we are homeschooling. If we need to fill out paperwork, or for 4-H or church I kind of just write something down or estimate what grade they should be in.

I have a fifteen year old who has dyslexia, he struggles with both math and reading comprehension so he is below where he should be in those subjects but is using an eighth grade science curriculum. My eleven year old and eight year old are using the same eighth grade science curriculum. It works and if we have to add a little explanation to it we do for the younger ones. We use what works for each child regardless of the grade level of the curriculum or age of the child.

ETA I also wanted to add that we plan to homeschool until they are eighteen or ready for college, if at the age of eighteen I feel they still need another year at home before college that is what we will do. We also plan on using community college courses in high school.