What’s my grade?

What’s my grade?  Most of the time, it’s not the grade at all.  I have a Chem class.  Everyone needs to memorize 50 key elements.  Six of the eight kids have them memorized.  Two of the kids are still testing.  I’ll retest until they have memorized all 50 elements they need.  One students earned 100% the first time on the elements test.  The rest needed more trials.  We retest before or after class.  Eventually, everyone will have an A on the test.

Most of my assignments are treated in a similar manner.  Labs, timelines, reports, quizzes are all returned and corrected before I submit the grade.  I keep a close eye on missing work.  I just emailed everyone (and their parents) about missing work.  We made arrangements to complete the work, tests, lab, etc.

I treat all of Lacie’s work in the same manner.  She completes questions or an exercise.  I evaluate all of her work.  Frequently, I ask for more details.  Her finished papers for submission are polished because I sat next to her and discussed every aspect of the paper.  

Now, in Chem, because it’s a class, I set an aggressive pace.  The course needs to conclude by early June.  I’ve had kids stay late, come on Thursday, or arrive before class so they don’t fall behind.  A few parents wanted more rigor.  I’m happy to supply more rigor.

But, Lacie’s grade isn’t a consideration.  Are we progressing quickly?  Not really.  I would like to complete all of the course work by the end of June.  We might.  Initially, we are investing a great deal of time developing independent study habits.  I’m willing to bet that if I go line by line through her papers three or four times, the essays are going to improve.  No one enjoys going line by line through an essay.  The same is true in Algebra, Grammar, History, and Theology If the answers are incorrect, they must be corrected.  Every. Single. Time.  

So, it’s not the grade.  Instead, is the child on track to complete Algebra 1 in one year?  History?  Theology?  Literature?  Latin?  I’m putting grades aside and focusing on completion and mastery.