Effective teachers manage their classrooms with procedures, whereas ineffective teachers discipline the students with threats and punishments. Procedures have to do with teaching students what to do in the classroom, such as what to do if the teacher wants the class's attention, what to do upon entering the classroom, and how to make entries in a journal. Effective teachers spend the first two weeks of school teaching students how to be responsible for their behavior and their learning. Students want to succeed and they want to be taught how to do things, but they can only succeed if they are shown the procedure for how to do things. Although it is perfectly understandable that students want to know about their grade, the effective teacher is much more concerned with getting the students to complete the assignments and passing the tests.
Grades are the after-effect of the assignment and the test.
In an effective classroom, the students earn their own grade based on their mastery of the learning criteria. It would be best to wait until day 2 or 3 to explain this concept to your students or better yet, when you give them their first assignment. We've had our students bring objects about themselves to be posted on a personality bulletin board showing the students' work and their achievement. Using this technique the message is made clear that every person in the classroom is important. Everyone wants to be treated with respect, dignity, and love, whether that person is a teacher, administrator, or student.