Grading INBs

For my first year of Interactive Notebooks, I decided to not use an elaborate rubric.  The difficult part is when and how to grade the notebooks.  It doesn't make sense to have the students leave their notebooks with me to grade overnight.  I give homework every night, and encourage them to use their notebooks to help complete their homework.  I've also heard many teachers say that they collect the notebooks during tests and grade them then.  This is not a viable option for me.  Last year, I had to circulate throughout the entire test because so many of my students would shamelessly cheat.  I don't know if my students this year are the same way, but from talking to my students and other teachers last year, it seems to be a pervasive school issue.

With these things in mind, the only other alternative I (and my Geometry chat tweeps) could find was to spot check the notebooks.  I decided to complete checks once a week while checking homework.  If students meet the standard, they will get a check.  I will assign a grade based on how many checks they earn throughout the marking period.  In order to do a quick check, I decided that it would be best to give students a checklist of everything they need to earn full credit on their notebooks.  I'm grading my students on the following criteria:  complete table of contents, all pages numbered, entries are dated, work is legible, all inserts are neatly glued down, all vocabulary flaps are complete, all pages are complete and accurate, and all math work is accurate and mistakes have been corrected.

I haven't graded the notebooks yet.  Since I'm still learning and my students are still learning, I've noticed that there were many mistakes made in the first unit section of their notebooks.  I decided that I am not going to grade the first unit.  I'll start grading the notebooks this week and have a follow-up post in a few weeks.