Tracking Grades & Transcripts

[Carissa]

Hi everyone! I have a middle-schooler and am beginning to prepare for high school. How do all of you guys do your grading and transcripts for high school? Like for the transcripts, what information do you make sure to write down in your records?
I read in other forums that some moms don't issue grades. They just grade level of mastery. I had never heard of this before and wondered what you hs moms thought of this. Could you guys outline how you record grades?Thank-you.

[Inmom]

I've given grades, mostly because the universities my teens have applied to require them on a transcript. How I give grades depends on the course. Below are a couple of grading explanations I have on my course descriptions pages. From what I've researched, some admissions officers appreciate the explanation of "mom assigned" grades. In addition, my kids have grades from outside courses--online, dual credit, etc. So, of course, those are used on the transcript as well.

Just a note: my daughter's chosen university where she will attend next fall only required a transcript--no course descriptions. I only wrote them just in case someone would want them. It's best to keep on on this as you progress through high school than to panic at the end of junior year and realize you have to put it all together.

Math grades are calculated using 60% unit test grades and 40% daily work grades. Daily work is graded for mastery and all test errors are student-corrected.

Biology: The course grade is based on 60% exam grades, 30% lab grades, and 10% daily homework grades.

European History: 70% of the course grade consists of daily readings and short answer questions, while the remaining 30% is based on four research papers spaced throughout the course.

U.S. History: The overall grade is calculated as follows: 40% short essays addressing questions about readings from the Zinn text, 40% written work addressing original documents from the “Reading Like a Historian” website, and 20% research papers.

Photography: 90% of the grade is based on the completion of an extensive portfolio of photos taken
over the duration of the course, while 10% is based on the results of the 4-H judging.

[Carissa]

Thank-you, Carol, for the above information.
I'm just trying to prepare and not freak out at the same time. LOL