My Grading System

This is something that as a first year teacher, I have molded and changed and fiddled with over the last few months.  Let's be honest, it'll probably change by the time summer break is over and we've started the new school year!

However, this is the method I use currently that tackles the never ending issue of late work and keeping track of who completed the work and who didn't.

I keep my classes separated by dividers in a 1" binder. Makes for easy portability!

To start, my school has a system for attendance and grades that allows me to print out class rosters with built in columns that can be filled in however I like.  The names are listed on the left hand side of the table, and I fill in the assignment details at the top of each column.

The assignment details I include every time are as follows:  Assignment name, when it is due, what type of assignment it is, and how many points it is worth.  For instance,

Homophones Practice,  3-4-16, Homework, 10

When it is time to grade the assignment, I either use checkmarks to mark that the student completed the assignment and has earned the full amount of points, or I put the number they received based on quality of the work.  So for example, if there were 10 questions for the Homophones Practice Homework and I was grading for completion, I would mark a check next to the students' names that completed the assignment.  If I was grading for amount of questions correct and Suzie Smart only got 7 questions correct, I would mark a '7' in her box for that assignment.

If a student did not turn in the assignment, I would leave their box blank. If they are excused from an assignment I put a slash through that assignment.
After I have graded all of a particular assignment, I input the grades into our electronic gradebook portal and then mark at the top of the column with a checkmark.  That way I know if that assignment has been added or not!

Of course, everything is color coded with my magical pens!

Now for the assignments that get turned in late.

Let's say that Suzie Smart didn't turn the Homophones Practice Homework in on time.  In my gradebook online I report it as missing.  Three days later Suzie turns in her homework.  When I collect it at the end of the day,  I check it for how many she got correct.  If she had turned it in on time she would get a 7/10, but since it was three days late, she gets 1.5 points taken away from her score.  So she gets 5.5/10 on the assignment (bummer).  I record this in my physical binder this way:  I write the date it was turned in and then what her score would have been on time and I finish by circling that little box.  The circle is a reminder to input her grade electronically since I already put in the class grades as a whole.  When I go into the electronic gradebook, I can mark it as turned in late, then I put in the 5.5/10 score.  Our school's gradebook allows us to write a comment for each assignment for each student, so I also include here how many late points were taken so parent or student can know what they lost.  As soon as I have inputted that late grade, I take one of my highlighters and mark through the circle to indicate the late grade has been put in.

WHEW.  I know that was a long paragraph, thanks for sticking through that!

I use this system because I have a bad memory. If I just put in whenever a student finally turned in some work, I would NEVER remember to put it in electronically, let alone WHEN they turned it in!  This is nice for me because if I don't get to the electronic part until later (days or a week even) I still know when the turn in date is so I'm not taking away too many or too little points.  This also works for me because students always ask, "I turned that in two days ago but the portal still says it is missing."  I can look in my binder and tell the little angel that yes I have received and graded their assignment, it just hasn't gone into the portal yet OR if I highlighted it and they are telling me it still says missing we know there is a problem that needs to be addressed technology wise.

TL;DR - I use checks, circles, and numbers to keep track of grading and late work.  See picture for more details of what my grade book looks like!

How do you keep track of student work?  Have you figured out a system that saves you headaches later on?  I'd love to discuss in the comments!