Planning for High School: Practice Transcripts

Have I mentioned that I have an almost-high schooler? Have I mentioned how overwhelming that can be at times? It had been my plan to use Brianna's 8th grade year (this coming school year) as our "practice year" for high school, but I had only a vague idea of how I was going to do that...until I started reading through a recent lesson in Upper Level Homeschooling.


After reading the lesson on keeping transcripts, I've decided that I'm going to do a practice transcript this year. I'm going to begin keeping grades for Brianna in the same way and on the same grading scale that I plan to use in high school. I'm also going to write out some course descriptions for her "classes" and work diligently on having both of us do a better job of logging things like books read, outside classes taken and field trips. (My 2009 Old Schoolhouse Planner will come in handy for that, with its gazillion forms.)


We haven't kept grades in awhile (I did the first year or so that we homeschooled), so I'm working out, in my mind, exactly how I want to do that. What I'm leaning toward is giving her an initial grade on any given workbook assignment (grammar, math, etc. -- we don't use workbooks for everything) and, then, since she is required to correct any mistakes the next day, allow extra points or a percentage for an "adjusted grade."


I haven't decided exactly how I want to handle the adjusted grade. I'm leaning toward something along the lines of 10% of the original grade. For example, if the original grade was 90% and she corrects all the problems that she missed, I would add 9 points to her grade to give her a 99%. The reason I'm leaning toward 10% is that it's only enough to bring her grade up one letter grade if all the corrections are, well, correct, so that would still be an encouragement to do her best the first time.

Sometimes, when she does her corrections, some of them are still wrong. I haven't figured out how I will handle that -- maybe by dropping the percentage to 5% and going over, with her, the ones that are still wrong. I'm thinking that, if the majority are correct, I'd still give her the 10% adjusted grade. This may be somewhat subjective, based on the difficulty of the subject matter and the effort put into making the corrections.


I'm not sure how I want to handle things like reading assignments. Brianna has a tendency to procrastinate if it's not something that she really enjoys, so I'm thinking of trying to figure out a grading system that incorporates timeliness in completing assigned reading. So, if the book was completed on time, she'll get, say 100%, with so many points (I'm thinking 10) taken off for each day that it's late.


Science and history will probably be the two trickiest subjects to grade, since we generally do those as a family. I may not stress about that too much this year, though. I have some general ideas for those two subjects at the high school level that will shift them to more independent work for Brianna.


I also want to begin to actively include Brianna in the course planning and scheduling this year. This will allow her to begin to take responsibility for her education and really think about where her interests lie and what she needs to do to reach the goals that she has for herself, as far as her education and future career go. Seeing the big picture might also serve to help her put her higher level of importance on her daily work. (Hey, I can dream!)


It should be an interesting year, full of learning for both of us. If any of you have successfully navigated the high school years, I'd love to know what worked -- and what didn't -- for you and your kids.

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