Grades in the Homeschool: What is Fair?

Let’s talk about grades.  All through school, if I studied for a history or English test, I was pretty much guaranteed to get an A.  If I put the same amount of effort into studying for a math test, I was guaranteed to get a C.  If I did not study for a history or English test, I would most likely get a C or B-.  If I did not study for a math test, I would still get a C.  

Grades are supposed to reflect effort and time put in to something. And sometimes, those grades are a true reflection of time and effort, but what about when they’re not.   No matter how much effort I put into math, I can’t get better than a C.  Please don’t misunderstand me:   I don’t think I should be given an A unless my test scores are that of an A grade. 

                But here’s a good thing about grades: they let me know not only what I was good at, but what I was bad at –math.  You really do not want me to be building bridges.  (Aside: I’ve heard people say things like, “Oh you need math to go into business or be an engineer.”  My mental response was, “Fine. I won’t study business or become an engineer.”  So, please be very careful when you say things like that.  You may be doing more harm than good.)  I also now understand that I have math learning disability called dyscalculia. 

                One of the great things about homeschooling is that you can tailor the teaching method to match your child’s style of learning.   But does this give homeschoolers some unfair advantage?  Let’s say a homeschool student learns physics concepts by doing project-based learning.  That student is able to show what she has learned both through the physical project and notes explaining the project and how physics applies.  She gets an A in her physics homeschool class.  Now, let’s assume we have a public school student who just can’t seem to grasp these physics concepts within the confines of the textbook.  (Textbooks can be fantastic resources.)   Anyhow, our public school student ends up with a B-, but not for lack of trying.  Had said public school student been allowed to engage in project-based learning, she might have earned an A as well.  So, while I do love the idea of tailoring learning to meet how an individual student learns, I am deeply troubled by the ethical implications of this.    To be clear, I am talking about high school transcripts which will be used my college admissions counselors.  Those counselors assume an A is earned through textbook study and exams.   Also, how many projects should a homeschool student do to earn a credit that is worth 120 hours of work. Granted, as homeschoolers we don’t have to hit exactly 120 hours, but again out of fairness, shouldn’t what we do be at least comparable on some level to public/private school students?

                I agree with teaching to mastery rather than just moving on to the next topic, but how should grades reflect that?  Public school kids get one shot at it (maybe more if it’s a series of quizzes), but the final grade is the final grade.   If a public school kid gets a C on a chapter test, it’s still onto the next chapter with fellow students - some of whom will have earned As.   If a homeschool student has the opportunity to relearn the lesson and retake the test, is the higher score used for the final grade (for that unit/chapter) or is the recorded score an average of both grades?

           I know that a lot of homeschooling families will say to not worry about grades or comparisons with public school kids.  I agree in theory, but my qualms arise when it comes time to do high school transcripts for colleges.  If a public school student has to do XYZ to earn an A, then shouldn’t my kid have to something that is at least comparable to public/private school work in order for him to earn an A?  I do think that there is a question of ethics.  Is it fair to say my kid got an A if my kid was able to re-do something over and over again. Is it fair to say my kid got an A if he did less work than a public school student?
           After having a mini existential crisis on the assigning of grades, I did what I do best - I asked Google.  Well, I asked on some different homeschooling pages and researched some more on Charlotte Mason's methods of grading.  It would appear that I am overthinking this whole thing.
      As to the question of how to grade if you are applying the mastery system, the conventional wisdom is give your student the A.  I asked on a Classical education site and that is what they suggested. Their logic being if a grade reflects what the student knows and has accomplished, then an A is correct.  In fact, students in schools are being shortchanged because even if they do understand the concept of the lesson by the end of the unit, the final grade is often an average of all the grades earned during that unit.
        I also found great advice from homeschooling educator Lee Binz.  Binz writes about the advantage of we have as homeschoolers of truly knowing what our children know.  For example, my son can talk about detailed facts of the Civil War years after learning about them.  I can walk up to him and at any moment I can ask him to give me a run-down of the War of The Roses and he'll do it and do a good job.  I know he has achieved a mastery of history that he has studied.  Binz also brings up a good point by saying that you can explain in your course descriptions if you used a mastery approach.
       But what about the lady herself, Miss Charlotte Mason?  There were no grades assigned in her PNEU schools.  A narrative assessment was done for the parents that was unique to each child.  If a child struggled, but was really putting forth his/her best effort, then that should be recognized.
    The problem with Mason's method for modern day homeschoolers is that most colleges want to see a letter grade assigned to each course. (My oldest daughter's college is the exception to this and in fact prefers that homeschoolers provide narrative evaluations instead of letter grades. I love my daughter's college.)  So, combining the advice of Mason and Binz, one could give grades that are a fair and accurate reflection of a student's achievements.   If a student hasn't earned an A, don't give it to him.   Even if my child put in her absolute best effort, but still did not master a subject, I would not give an A.  I do believe that we all need to know what we aren't as good at as well as what we are good at.