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re:
By Mary

You could have everyone do an independent written assignment, after the group has done their work. They would tell what the group's task was, and what was learned, or discovered. Included in that assignment could be a chance
to rate their own cooperative learning (and they're sometimes pretty honest, and pretty hard on themselves) and you could also ask them to rate the other group members. That way, you get a grade concerning what they can do independently (and it doesn't have to be written. It can be presented in lots of different ways). You also get four or five perspectives on everyone's behavior

and contributions, so you have some pretty good information on which to base a participation grade. Those are the two grades I would give for this, I think, and you just weight them accordingly. Oh, and when I have them "rate" themselves and others, a sentence doesn't get it. They have to tell me the whys and the becauses, so it needs to be a pretty meaty paragraph, depending, of course, on what grade you teach. You can't expect that sort of written response from a second grader, but you can expect it from a fifth or sixth grader. The primary kids can do a simpler version, on a well-thought-out form that you provide.