It is very important to have an organized record of the marks you assign your students.

Marks are a personal matter and should not be written down in your Day Book. That’s why it is important to keep a separate Mark Book.

I use a sheet just like this one to record all of the marks I assign. I write my students names in number order and then photocopy this sheet for every strand of the curriculum.

You can download a MS Word version of this tracking sheet here.

There are two rows for each student. On the first row you can record the student’s mark. The second row can be used to keep a running percentage if you choose to do so. I used to do that but it doesn’t really need to be done if you teach the primary grades. Instead I use that second row to put in some codes “w/a” stands for “with assistance” and it lets me know that the student did not complete his or her work independently. I can also write “ND” for “not done” or “I” for incomplete or “A” for absent.

I find that these codes really help me when I scan these marking sheets in order to assign grades when it comes time to write the report cards.

My mark book is in a 1 inch binder and I use a index divider like this one. I assign each number to one particular strand of the curriculum. That way, I can easily flip to that tab whenever I need to add a mark for a student.

The first three tabs I use for school info, staff meeting minutes, and any initiatives I need to keep track of.

The rest of the tabs are used for the individual strands of the curriculum. For example I use #4 for Reading, # 5 Writing, # 6 Spelling # 7 Oral Communication # 8 Media Literacy # 9 Math drills # 10 Math – Number Sense # 11 Math – Measurement # 12 Math – Geometry # 13 Math – Patterning and Algebra # 14 Math – Data Management, etc.

This way I have a separate mark sheet for each unit. I find that this system really helps me keep track of all the marks I will need to be able to write the report cards.

I also like all of this in a binder so I can take out whatever sheet I want to record marks on and attach it to my clipboard. I can quickly walk around the room and add marks this way. I can also take a load of work and my binder with me so that I can input marks wherever I chose to.

It’s a handy way for me to keep all my marks organized and together. I also find that this system works great during the parent-teacher interviews as I can show these marks to both the parents and the students. Missed assignments and blanks really stand out this way and can be eye-opening.

I also level everything so that my marks in this book need to do be converted or averaged when it comes to write report cards.

I hope that you are finding these series if tips useful. If so, please leave a comment below or consider writing a guest post to share some of your best teaching ideas.

Teachers helping teachers is what it is all about.