1. Develop clear assignment expectations before the assignment is handed out and share them with your students.
Remember your students will come from a variety of different backgrounds and have different amounts of support in completing their work. Students of privilege will be less impacted by poor directions because they are supported by a network that has informal knowledge about college. For underserved student populations, like first-generation college students, students of color, and other minoritized populations, the lack of clear expectations can cause them to stumble—not because they can’t do what you’re asking of them, but because they didn’t understand what you were asking of them. For this reason, focus on providing clear and widely understood expectations and directions. Doing this is one of the best ways to benefit all of your students and make grading less frustrating for you as well!
With your teaching team, create a grading policy to give students at the beginning of the course. This should include things like: how you will handle late assignments, how students can ask questions about grades, a clear process for how students can challenge a grade respectfully, how quickly students can expect feedback, and how grades and feedback will be shared.
2. Use a Rubric to specify grading criteria.
A rubric shows students how an assignment will be scored, and typically outlines specific criteria students must meet and what constitutes a complete and successful assignment. See examples and read more about Grading and Performance Rubrics from the Eberly Center. You will see more about grading with rubrics in Canvas in an upcoming page. In developing a Rubric, you should work with your teaching team.
3. Grade all responses to the same question together.
Imagine you are grading an exam with multiple questions. Whether they are essay responses, or lengthy calculations, your grading will be more consistent for each student if you grade all responses to question 1 before grading question 2. You will be better able to track themes or common problems across students, and be able to more easily apply consistent feedback. Later in today’s content, we will cover Speedgrader, which allows you to grade by question.
4. Anonymize assignments when grading.
To “anonymize” an assignment means you remove student identifying information, so you don’t know which student you are grading. This practice helps to minimize bias, and is commonly used in screening job applications. Even the most well-intentioned teachers still have feelings and implicit biases, i.e. attitudes that unconsciously affect actions, that affect their grading (Boysen & Vogel, 2009). Information on how to anonymize assignments when grading in Canvas can be found here: Anonymous Grading in Canvas.
5. Skim a sample of the assignment submissions before grading.
Especially when you are new to grading and to a particular assignment, it can be hard to calibrate your expectations. Often, the first grades you assign will be too harsh or too easy. As you grade more students’ assignments you will start to find the right balance of how discriminating you want to be, the amount and level of corrections you offer, and the time you can spend on each assignment. By skimming the assignments beforehand or assigning grades in pencil, you can help ensure all of your students are receiving consistent treatment.
6. Limit the scope of your feedback to 2-3 major corrections when possible.
You don’t always need to comment on everything that is wrong on an assignment. This is inefficient both in terms of your time and student learning. Focus on the most important and clear corrections, and provide instructions for improvement. This will make it easier for your students to understand the most important aspects of the assignment.
7. Create a bank of comments.
You will likely find yourself offering the same comments repeatedly. To save time you can create abbreviations (e.g. NC = needs citation) or a numbered bank of comments with detailed corrections which you share with the students. Then, as you grade, all you need to do is put the appropriate abbreviation or number that corresponds to the comment and correction in your bank.
8. Take regular breaks.
Grading all of your assignments without a break may mean you are more likely to be tired or frustrated at the end. This may make you more harsh or less detailed in your feedback. Instead, make a schedule with breaks and rewards during the time you allot for grading.
9. Create wrappers for your assignments.
Wrappers are short worksheets that come before or after an assignment. These can help identify student preferences for feedback as well as serve as reflection tools, which aid in student learning. Wrappers can ask things like: What grade do you expect to receive on this assignment? What are you most proud of in this assignment? Is there anything in particular you want me to focus on or provide feedback on while grading this assignment?
This information can help you decide how best to provide feedback. It can also help students make connections between their effort, your feedback, their grade, and how they can improve (TEAL Center Fact Sheet No. 4, n.d.). Read more about Metacognitive Wrapper Questions.
10. Prepare for grading challenges.
A student challenging a grade can be both an intimidating and stressful situation. This is an area where it is extremely important to be on the same page as your lead instructor. Make sure you discuss this eventuality beforehand as well as any individual cases that arise. Having a clear policy will help you navigate the situation easily in the moment. Discuss this with your teaching team!
Consider creating a policy in your course that creates space and time for you and the student to review the assignment and then have a calm discussion. Some policy suggestions include: asking students to wait at least 24 hours to contact you about their grade, asking students to email you to schedule a face-to-face or private virtual meeting and summarize their complaint, or specifying that you will not re-grade the assignment with the student present. Don’t be afraid to do what you think is right. Sometimes, the student will be mistaken and you can stand by what you originally said. Other times, you might have made a mistake – simply acknowledge it and correct it. It is not a sign of weakness for you to admit the mistake. Review if you are teaching an L&S course.
