Homework grades in middle school

[minniemouse]

If your child is in middle school, are their homework assignments graded for accuracy or do they get credit just for turning it in?

Before I go on, I am just curious as to what others experience. I am not complaining about or judging the teacher here. My 6th grader’s math teacher grades on accuracy of their homework, meaning her grade is lower than it ever has been before. Even if she gets the right answer she is marked off for not showing the steps exactly right. She said they don’t go over it in class. It’s just turned in and that’s it. Every other math teacher both my kids have had previously had them do the homework at home, go over it in class the next day and make any needed correction, then they got full credit for it. It’s been quite an adjustment, poor dd is so stressed out.
It’s also interesting since her sister was in 6th grade in the 2020-2021 hybrid year. Everything was modified because of the pandemic. I’m not quite sure what is normal for 6th grade because of that.

[stemmie]

Math homework in secondary is graded. Usually, partial credit is given for steps shown and correct answers.

[ssmjlm]

She really has only had math homework, and it's pre-algebra in 6th. The worksheets are more of a go over in class, participation grade, but the online assignments we do get emailed a grade. I'm not 100% if that grade is put into the actual gradebook though. Homework is just a percentage of her overall grade.

[sparty04]

Accuracy unless it's specified that it's something that just needs to be done. DS1 is very smart and he has gotten several E's on homework which is very unlike him. I don't know if it's just him not paying attention, but it doesn't seem like they go over homework afterwards. He often doesn't look to see what he did wrong to correct it for the future.

My nephews go to a school that has a separate 5th/6th building and they seem to approach schoolwork more from an elementary standpoint than high school. I think I'd prefer that first instead of jumping right into letter grades for everything.

[ilikedonuts]

Depends on the subject and class.

[waverly]

Graded on accuracy. A lot of it is in an online module so the steps are not shown for every problem.

[hermione]

My daughter is in 6th. Her math has been graded how you describe since 3rd grade. Show the work and get the correct answer for full credit. The only things that gets reviewed, corrected, and full points just for turning it in is the review sheet before a test.

[mccallister84]

I am amazed any math teacher has the time for that.

[expectantsteelerfan]

For us, homework (esp. math homework) is graded for accuracy. But our school is very big on revising and resubmitting to earn back points. For DD this year (in 7th), hw is worth 4 points. If they get a 1 or 2, they are required to redo and resubmit, and there are times built in to the school day for students to have access to the teachers for extra assistance (otherwise they are just a study hall).
Test scores below a 75% are also required to retake, and I believe they are 'allowed' to retake if they get anything below a 90%.

Personally, I think this is good practice as they are working toward mastery of content and not just grades. My only complaint is that it makes for a hard transition to high school when things can only be done once most of the time.

[tealblue]

7th grader is score on accuracy. I think most things are online, so not sure if they grade steps or just the answer.

[abs]

Both.

Packets and IXL are usually graded in completion. That is maybe half of the minor grades. Reviews and class work are graded on accuracy and that includes showing work. It’s been this way since 4th grade and DD is in geometry now.

For all other subjects it’s based on accuracy only.

[jinkies]

My son is in 11th grade. His math teacher this year is the first to ever grade homework for accuracy. All previous teachers graded for completion only. I know this because it's a point of contention for him LOL.

My seventh grader is definitely not graded for accuracy, but she is also in special education for math, so I felt like my son's experience is more relevant here.

[sent]

I have no idea. DD never shares if she has homework. However, sometimes we don't speak the same language. Like I will say "did you have a quiz?" And she will say no. Then she goes on to describe something that sounds 100% like a quiz but she pushes back and says "no, those are Brain Boosters. Not a quiz." I think the same thing is happening with what I call "homework" and her school has re-named with some other term. So she does the work at some point outside of class (homework according to my vocabulary) but isn't showing me or telling me about it because they've made her think it's not traditional homework.

Back to school night is this week. I'm hoping to get some clarity there. Fifth grade math last year was an absolute cluster.

[waverly]

If you think that is bad in 7th grade they had to have an 80% on all homework, so if they did have 80% (its online so easy to see) then they sent it back to the student, and then took 1/2 point off because it was late, so then the highest they could get was a 75 if your score was 100. It was pretty dumb, but I understand the over 80% was to work until competancy and the late was because you can't really get behind in math because it has already moved on. But it was a big adjustment for DS who lacks executive function skills.

[sugarbear1]

SS teacher here -- I grade for completion on most things. Sometimes I'll choose 2 questions and check those, just to make sure the kids are paying attention. I see "practice" as just that, in any class -- preparation for an assessment. My DS (8th grade)'s math teacher sends home the answer key with the homework so the kids can check it themselves. I like this system.

[cmeon]

My kids are in HS now (my oldest is taking DE Calc 3 right now). Secondary homework grading varies, but grading for accuracy (and timeliness) is more common than not.

Have her check her work, it's such a good habit/skill. One of the best things about math is that you can be really confident that you have the correct answers, you just need to understand how to check them (and do it).

[erbear]

I teach 8th grade social studies. 

There are some homework assignments I grade for accuracy (if I'm intending it as an assessment of something they've learned). I rarely grade anything just for doing it -- I wouldn't grade for completion as I am not grading compliance.

I wouldn't expect HW to be graded for accuracy, but I would also expect them to go over it. It's practice.

[flygirl]

My DS has always been graded on accuracy (6th, 7th and now 8th grade). However, usually the homework is something that was covered that day or previously in class. I don’t think he’s been given homework for something they don’t know how to do and then get graded on it. That’s the part that seems unfair.
Also, it’s always been important to show the steps. DS has always needed a separate notebook for math so they can write out how they arrived at their answer.

[sdlaura]

Depends on the class and teacher for my middle schooler. She’s in honors math, and that homework is just graded for completion, and honors English - that homework is graded for accuracy.

The middle school teachers did make the point about how now is the time to learn how to fail/get bad grades since these grades don’t matter and it can teach them they need to study and double check their work.

[niq]

V is in 6th grade.

The math teacher expects students to do 10 minutes of "something" every day but it's not logged or graded in any way. We haven't been doing it yet, but he'll be on the MathCounts team which is more than that.

The band is pretty hardcore, they expect 30 minutes of practice a day. We're getting close on weekdays.

My understanding is there's no homework in any class until Algebra 1, except "finish the work you couldn't finish in class". V had to write a letter in science, but he spent all his time reading about the scientists he could write letters to. We had to do it at home, which was excruciating lol.

Even a lot of "graded" assignments seem to be excluded from grading calculations. I guess the idea is not everybody knows what L4 work looks like, so you have to show them what is and isn't L4 work?

5th grade homework was graded for correctness, but elementary school didn't have letter grades. V sometimes got marked down for not showing enough work.

[niq]

I think every student has at least one fussbudget math teacher who makes you show a ton of steps. As you get older, you get a better understanding of why the teacher is asking you to do it, so it's less annoying, and they also start letting you skip more steps.

[sandandsea]

Yes math hw is graded in very strict detail. You could be a math genius and get every question right but fail the class because you didn’t show adequate work and use the correct method to solve the problem based on the method you learned in that chapter, even if you used a better more advanced method. The right answer is worth 1/3 credit.

[imimahoney]

My 7th grader has it both ways. Some teachers do accuracy (they collect it) and some do effort.

[formerlyak]

Grading math homework for accuracy is wild to me. And for context, my mom was a math teacher and my oldest is in college as a math major. If a concept is introduced in class, the homework should be for concept reinforcement and practice. It should give kids an opportunity to see where they are lacking understanding so they can ask questions and learn. Grading for accuracy further perpetuates the perfection race that is so detrimental to learning.

My youngest is in fifth grade and his teacher assigns homework and tells kids if they have questions to circle the problem and come in a few minutes before the bell and she will help them.

My oldest took math through AP Calc BC and took AP Chem and Physics. He’s now in college level math classes. None of these higher level STEM classes have graded homework for accuracy.

[redheadk]

My dd is in advanced math with a compressed curriculum. Her homework is graded for accuracy. It’s made very clear that the class moves quickly with a new concept introduced or added to daily so this is what we expected. I wouldn’t necessarily expect that in on level math though generally the math curriculum calendar is pretty tight no matter what level, IME. Classwork only accounts for 40% of her grade and the teachers take a lot of those so individual assignments don’t move the needle much.

She’s in 7th grade. Homework was not graded in elementary but middle school is a different beast.

[CloudBee]

Sept 24, 2024 11:54:20 GMT -5 sugarbear1 said:

My DS (8th grade)'s math teacher sends home the answer key with the homework so the kids can check it themselves. I like this system.

Having DS correct all of his own math is what really makes new concepts stick for him. It also kicks bad habits and minimizes silly mistakes. He moves from the dining room table to the kitchen island (where I’m usually working on a project, folding, meal prep), and he trades his pencil for a red pen. He circles anything he got wrong as he reads answers off to me, and gets a shot at fixing it himself before being given the answer key showing each step.

[redheadbaker]

DS is in 7th (that's the first year of middle school in our district), and his homework is not graded for accuracy.