Monday, October 22, 2012

Homeschool report cards

According to my planning sheet, Thing 1 is on Week 9 of our curriculum.  This means that it's time for me to write my first quarterly. 
For those of you not familiar with NY State Homeschool Law, I have to write up four quarterly reports, and then an annual evaluation.  And then send them to the Department of Redundancy Department NYC Central Office of Homeschooling (and I bet you didn't even know we had one.)  Each quarterly has to show the dates started and ended, number of absences (every parent marks it as zero), hours of instruction (225+ for grades K-6, 247.5+ for grades 7-12), a record showing 80% of the planned work for the quarter was covered, and a grade.
You're kidding, right?
I mean, one COULD use a narrative approach.  But a grade?  As in A, B, C, D or F?  Or Excellent, Good, Satisfactory or Needs Improvement?  Seriously, I'm evaluating my own kid!  I know her strengths and weaknesses.  I don't need some cutesy little form showing straight A's.  I don't even grade her work!  The only grades I ever give are "100%" and "Fix it."  More to the point, why does the city even NEED report cards?  We have to have an evaluation done at the end of the year, in either standardized test or portfolio evaluation form.  Doesn't that prove we did what we were supposed to?

1 comment:

  1. Well, I think they are trying to make sure parents take it seriously. You do, but many probably don't. The crazy part is that regular teachers in NYC are NOT ALLOWED to fail kids. I've had a NUMBER of teachers tell me that their administrations would not let them fail kids-even if they don't do a lick of work. They still have to give them a D-. I think if they are absent the whole year, they can give them an F then.

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