I don't give many homework assignments, personally. But those who do are frequently overwhelmed by tall piles of, say, arithmetic problems. One way they cope is to give a completion grade instead of checking each problem. And in fact, sixth grader's grades--even when you are assessing for proficiency in the benchmark--often reflect more of whether they finished an assignment or followed the directions than what they know of the material.
Here's a shortened version of the grading scale in my classroom:
Advanced: Goes beyond what is expected, shows understanding beyond expectations.
Proficient: Fulfills all requirements.
Partially Proficient: Fulfills almost all requirements. Shows almost complete understanding.
Novice: Fulfills some requirements.
Missing or Incomplete
Under this scale, I give no As for effort, but I do give Ds for effort.
If every school followed this scale, the grades that admissions committees received would be much more meaningful than the hodgepodge of teaching philosophies, formulae, grade inflation, percentages, averages, and holistic grading they now receive in disguise as a unified GPA system. There would still be some subjectivity and personal grading policies embedded. That seems to be inevitable.
