Anyone else's school not do 'grades?'

[peaceful_mama]

I really like what DS's school does. (he's in K but they do this for the whole school, it's typical elementary up to 5th)

When they do an assignment and make a mistake, it's not recorded as a bad grade. They call it a "fix-it" and--at least for K this is what happens--one of us parent helpers or a teacher will call the child over during a quiet time and work with them on fixing the work. Then, when it's done, it's marked as fixed. (you mark what needs fixing, write "fix 3" or whatever number)

I don't know if they're expected to work a little more independently as they get older?

it just seems so much more what teaching/learning should be about. Making a mistake is OK, it is part of the process, and it means someone needs to check in with you and make sure you understand the material...or you, the learner, need to remember to work carefully. (in the case of a mistake made due to working too fast, not thinking through.)

[Linda on the move]

My kids are starting at an alternative school this year and rather than grades, the teachers write up how the child is doing. There is a 6 to 1 ratio of students to teachers, so this is far more doable than in a regular classroom.

[jkpmomtoboys]

My kids have never had grades, per se. They are in an alternative public school where the teachers write up how they are doing on the report cards. The funny part is that it's a great school but because the kids don't know how to take tests, our STAR test scores are much lower than they should be. :LOL

[34me]

My son goes to an Experiential Learning School and they don't have grades/traditional report cards.

[mattemma04]

My kids are in Montessori with no grades.When my dd did the online charter I never mentioned the grades to her. They know about grades,but I stress they need to learn the material rather than just focus on getting passing grades in the future.

I prefer the no grading system too.

[beanma]

No grades here. We get a report that outlines progress and areas of strengths and weaknesses, but no grades. We did have to take the EOG tests this year because of state rules, but very few tests otherwise.

[mad4mady]

What a great way to learn. My hope is that all schools will move to a no grade format some day. It should be about the value of the experience not the grades but don't get me started.

At my daughters school they are big on grades. I have seen kids get upset because they didn't get a "good enough" grade on a test. I do my best to teach my daughter that is not about the grades and I don't put very much emphasis on them. I guess I am glad that she gets good grades so it is never an issue with her teacher or the school. I was upset when she came home her first day of second grade and had the letter grade system on her work, I think that is way to young!

[Geofizz]

We get "emerging," "developing," "acheiving" (sic), and "extending" scores for each of 30 or so different things. They were not useful in the slightest. DD started each year as developing in just about everything moving to "acheiving" by the end of the year, even though she was operating 3-5 grade levels above on some subjects and struggling to progress on others.

[annethcz]

That is quite similar to how my children are evaluated at school (elementary charter school). The kids aren't given grades on assignments or tests, other than the percentage correct. For report cards, children are rated 1-4
1: below expectations
2: working towards expectations
3: meets expectations
4: exceeds expectations

in academic, social and behavioral categories.