With all of the many jobs that we must do as home educator’s the job of writing the yearly assessment often gets put on the back burner and, at times, left undone. However, with a little planning this task can become a useful tool in planning our school year and preparing for college portfolios.
A yearly assessment is more than just a report card. Both the teaching parent and the student can look back over what has been done and feel a sense of accomplishment. It can often be a pleasant surprise to see actually how much was accomplished.
I have found that making monthly assessment simplifies the job greatly. Each month while doing the attendance report, I make the following lists:
field trips
special projects
books read
textbooks used (with pages and/or chapters completed)
service projects
awards
spiritual milestones
sports
musical performances.
I also give a letter grade (numerical for high school) for each subject and take a written sample from each subject. The samples are stored in plastic sleeves (page protectors) and kept in a three-ring binder. This may sound like a lot of work, but it usually takes me about a half hour each month for me to complete this for all four of my children.
The yearly assessment then becomes a summary of these monthly reports. To the monthly reports I add a general summary, the standardized test scores and goals for the next school year.
These yearly assessments help me greatly in my planning for the next year. It also helps me to see the progress my children are making, as I tend to focus on what needs to be done next rather than on what accomplishments have been made.
Yearly Assessment 1997-98 School Year
Jeremy Paul 7th Grade
Projects and Activities Completed
DCHE Science Fair
Track Class (Oglethorpe U)
National Geographic Geography Bee
Instrumental Music Class (1st Baptist Atlanta)
Basketball (Rehoboth)
Baseball (Rehoboth)
Soccer (Grant Park)
Math Team (Math Counts)
Swim Team (Grant Park – CAD)
Service Projects
Jeremy played the violin and sang monthly at the Beverly Manor Nursing Home on Glenwood in Decatur
Math-a-thon for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
Meals on Wheels – monthly delivery
Awards
Geography Bee- 1st Place DCHE
State Finals for GA
Science Fair- 2nd Place
Music- Perfect Attendance/Superior Practice
Swimming- 3rd Place – Butterfly (CAD); 2nd Place – Backstroke (CAD)
Field Trips
Gettysburg, PA
Antietam, MD
Harper’s Ferry, WV
Toronto Zoo
Ontario Science Center
Corning Glass Museum
Washington, DC
Space Science Center (Columbus)
Columbus Art Museum
Huntsville Space & Rocket Center
Sunrise Planetarium
Textbooks Used
Easy Grammar Plus
Scott Foresman 8th Grade Math
Physical Science (Prentice Hall)
A History of US
Daily Grams (green)
Wordly Wise (1 and 2)
Mapping the World By Heart (the Americas)
Kingfisher Guide to the Ancient World
Spanish – PowerGlide
Grades
Math A–
Science A+
History A
English B
Geography A
Spanish A–
ITBS Scores
NPR Stannine
Reading 97 9
Language 93 8
Math 93 8
Core 96 9
Social Studies 99 9
Science 99 9
Sources of Information 96 9
Composite 99 9
Detailed Description by Subject Area
Math
Jeremy used the Scott-Foresman 8th grade math book this year. This book covers a general overview of 8th grade math with each chapter ending with algebraic problem solving. Jeremy did an excellent job with this program and showed much promise in the algebra. He needs to continue to work on fraction-decimal-percent conversions and increasing his accuracy. Jeremy also used the computer (School Mom) Calculadder, and Math-It for review and drill. Jeremy participated in the Math-A-Thon for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and raised over $300. He participated in the DCHE Math Team and in the MathCounts competition at Shamrock Middle School.
Jeremy’s 7th Grade Assessment page 3
Science
Jeremy completed a year’s study of physical science using the Prentice Hall physical science book. He also participated in special laboratory classes on earth science, sound, simple machines, crystals, acids and bases, phases, chemical reactions and animal classification. His science project this year involved testing for acid rain. For his excellent work he placed 2nd in the DCHE Science Fair.
He dissected the following animals in his study of taxonomy: starfish, earthworm, clam, grasshopper, crayfish, perch, frog and fetal pig.
History
This year’s focus was on US History. Jeremy read the History of US series and helped teach his younger siblings. He completed a project on the progression of statehood in the United States and studied the history of Canada, Central and South America as well. He read more than a dozen books (see book list) covering this time period and wrote a brief book report on each book. We visited the battlefields at Gettysburg, Harper’s Ferry and Antietam as well as many museums and monuments in Washington, DC. His general and specific knowledge of history exceeds my own.
Areas to Develop
Penmanship
Vocabulary
Spelling
Composition
Discipline
Faithfulness
Neatness
