Seton Magazine Catholic Homeschool Articles, Advice & Resources
Summary
Seton Coursework Coordinator Carol Little shares tips to help families get their graded schoolwork returned more quickly and improve their test scores.Carol Little, whose official title at Seton is Coursework Coordinator, receives those tests and papers physically mailed to Seton by students and parents. She then distributes these hard-copy tests to the appropriate graders, records the assigned grades when they are returned, and mails the tests and the results back to the families.
When Carol began working at Seton 22 years ago, she joined a staff of four others charged with this task. Because of such innovations as online testing, she is now the sole member of the staff in charge of this work.
In a recent interview, she offered these tips to make this process of submissions flow smoothly and to enhance student learning and win them higher grades.
7 Tips for Speedier Service
1. Include Your Student’s Name and Number
When mailing in quarter report forms, put the student name and student number—the complete number—on the forms. The same holds true on any student tests that ask for the student’s name and number. Failure to do so makes it difficult to track down the student.
2. Send the Quarter Report Form (QRF)
Please be sure you send in the quarter report form with the student’s work. When that form is missing, it slows down the recording of grades.
3. Record the Parent Grades
If you are mailing your materials to Seton and want the parent-graded tests calculated in your student’s grade, be sure to record them on your QRF.
4. Do Not Send Parent-Graded Tests
Regarding this same topic, parents should not send parent-graded material to Seton. If sending in paper tests, remember to write the parent grade on the QRF.
5. Check the Handwriting
Be sure that the student’s test answers are clear and legible. Graders sometimes have trouble discerning answers even on multiple-choice tests because of faint handwriting.
6. Send the Original with Redo Tests
When the student takes a “redo,” meaning retaking a test to improve scores, be sure to send both the quarter report form and the original test back with the retaken test. We need the original to record your new grade and “redone” material.
7. Send Quarterly Tests A.S.A.P
Finally, if you submit your tests by mail, you can help your students by sending in the material to be graded by Seton every quarter.
When you send multiple quarters in at the same time, students don’t receive timely feedback. They continue to make the same mistakes throughout the rest of the semester. Subjects like math and
Latin are particularly dependent on incremental learning, adding bits of knowledge over time.
An example: the first-year Latin student who holds on to her tests throughout the entire year before sending them to Seton for grading has failed to grasp the use of noun cases in her first quarter.
Consequently, on the subsequent tests her scores are low because she keeps repeating the same mistakes. Had she sent her first quarter tests back when the test was taken, a grader would have alerted her to her errors.
Seton wants all of its students to excel in their studies. Follow these suggestions, and you’ll avoid delays and extra expenditures and help your children achieve academic success!
About Jeff Minick
