There are very few times I'll give a grade on something that's not a fourth grade benchmark. After all, that wouldn't be fair!! But, let's face it. Kids struggle with their basic facts. And, though they're "supposed" to master them in 3rd grade, very few retain the skill for 4th. And 4th grade is miserable if fact mastery hasn't happened!! After analyzing 11 years worth of teaching, I finally figured out why my kids seemed to know their facts better in my earlier years of teaching. It was a no-brainer, but with all the changes in curriculum and standards, I didn't realize it until this August.
Daily. Math. Drills.....Timed. 1 Minute. Graded right there. By the kids.
I gave up the daily math drills to 1. Save paper! 2. Get rid of having 40+ multiplication drills in the grade book. (I know!! Crazy!!!)
This year, I took on a new approach. Daily math drills (check). Timed (check). Graded by the kids (check). But, instead of putting them ALL in the grade book, I randomly choose one every week or so. We get the benefit of daily practice. They never know when is for a grade. And, I get a record in my grade book of 10 or so drills to let me know how they're progressing. And, if a parent is concerned about their child's math grade, the very first thing I check is how they're doing on those math drills. After all, if you don't know your basic facts, finding equivalent fractions is going to be a monster, at best.
And, of course, I've been working on math drills for my class. Here's a link to the (FREE!) division sets.
Level 1: Individual Facts Practice & Mixed Practice (20 per page)
Level 2: Mixed Practice (25 per page)
Level 3: Mixed Practice (30 per page)