S/O frustration with outside classes

[CynthiaOK]

I'm curious as to the type of co-ops out there. Our co-op started a bit wiggly, but we've tried to work out the glitches and, I think we are getting more solid. The one area of criticism I often hear about is "writing" and I have to say it was probably our biggest bugaboo.

Does your co-op provide you with writing level expectations? Does it have all essays (for any class) follow a certain format (i.e. MLA)? Does it *require* that all teachers follow a grading rubric?

We have finally instituted the above in order to provide consistency to the students over the range of courses and years. Some teachers would give A's to everyone on essays even when some were poorly constructed or short on content. Some counted off for format, others didn't care if it was double spaced or single spaced. This led to confusion on the part of the students. So now we require the above items.

[strider]

I have never been in a co-op situation that provided those guidelines . . .

EXCEPT when I am the teacher. While I do not fuss about MLA, I do provide concrete guidelines for form, content, etc.

I feel that objective grading standards are a must.

[transientChris]

I have been in three co-ops with high schoolers. None of them provided essay rubrics like MLA or anything like that. On the other hand, I have been absolutely pleased with the way the teachers graded since they graded fairly. None of the classes my high schooler is doing in co-op currently call for essays. She writes cases for debate, a novel for writing, and a research paper for my government class. Someone in my class asked about format today and since their paper was about a Supreme Court case, I said I want previous or subsequent cases cited as (Brown vs. Ed and date) as an example and not any more detailed. I will ask for a bibliography too. Other students doing another form of research paper will have different citations depending on the nature of their paper. Some are doing legislation, others cases, and others are doing programs.

[Holly IN]

I will answer here even though this is a spin off of my post.

No we never got a pre-req for the writing. No rubrics. Just credit breakdown and the grade level. That is it.

Holly