Grading Grading Grading
I am spending all of today grading rough drafts, written by undergrads. Now, I could go on and on complaining about the awful quality of writing, the sub-par understanding of research, etc. but that doesn't seem very productive, does it? Instead, I'd like to take a little poll concerning methods of grading (I know, also not productive, but I'm curious). Now, there are a variety of ways to grade a paper, some of which seem more "fair" some seem more "nice", etc. As a TA, though you may have the loveliest of TA assignments (as I do this semester), it can still be rather frustrating to grade assignments that you didn't create/assign, as you're never quite sure what the purpose of the assignment was, what the instructors are expecting, how nice you should be to the students, etc.
For example, consider the case of the "rough draft assignment"...is the point of having students turn in a rough draft:
Also, say you have an 8-page rough draft to read through and grade. You also have a grading criteria/feedback sheet that breaks the 20 possible points down into smaller point values possible for each section...do you:
For example, consider the case of the "rough draft assignment"...is the point of having students turn in a rough draft:
- a) to make sure they start work on their papers and don't put it off until the last minute,
- b) to give them lots of guidance/feedback to ensure a quality final draft, or
- c) to have them earn points/grade as if it were the final draft but on a smaller scale (so they need to do a decent job to get a decent grade, even though its "just" a rough draft)?
Also, say you have an 8-page rough draft to read through and grade. You also have a grading criteria/feedback sheet that breaks the 20 possible points down into smaller point values possible for each section...do you:
- 1) read through a section and grade it according to points--e.g. this paper doesn't state a hypothesis so they lose 2 pts, this paper doesn't state the study design very well, so they lose a point there, etc. (in which case you made end up giving the paper the equivalent of a D or C, when it really wasn't that bad of a draft, it just wasn't fabulous)
- 2) read through and give full credit for any section that's attempted, i.e. they tried to write a hypothesis, even though it makes no sense, so just give them points for it and make lots of comments on how they should make it better (in which case, what is the point of the point system?), or
- 3) read through and decide how good, overall you think the paper was--e.g. A papers are pretty obvious, as are C or lower papers, and then assign points so that they somehow add up to that grade (in which case you could just as easily write "A, because it seems like it" instead of breaking it down into points)?
posted by Jessica at
11:08 AM
4 Comments:
Rough drafts are tough to grade. All grading is tough, but rough drafts are especially difficult. I guess I use all of the above, depending on the prof., the assignment, the grading criteria given, etc.
I think that the point of the rough draft is a, b, and occasionally c. You don't want them to put it off, and giving the guidance and feedback does, if not ensure, at least improve the likelihood of a quality final draft. C is a bit more difficult. On the one hand, students tend to ignore comments if their grade does not reflect them. So if you give tons and tons of feedback on a crappy draft, but still give it a decent grade, all except the most motivated students seem to ignore the comments. On the other hand, I don't like to KILL them on the rough draft because it is a rough draft. In that way, I would tend to grade rough drafts using style 2 only not taking off too many points for things they don’t do well, with lots of comments.
On a final draft, especially one that has a grading scale broken down by section, I tend to grade use category 1 combined with category 3. After I read a paper, I often have a pretty good sense the approximate percentage grade a given paper should get. I also know what components they are missing from the points grading criteria so I make my percentage grade fit the points criteria and vice versa. I think that sometimes when grading with points only, I tend to grade too hard, and I think that combining them lessens that tendency, but eliminates some of the subjectivity of just assigning a grade based on the essay as a whole.
Anyway way you look at it, grading is hard!
By
Anonymous, At
1:22 PM
You and I probably should have had this conversation earlier. Thanks for raising these very concrete questions! I agree with Ms. P on both of your multiple choice questions. Rough drafts are sadly necessary to prevent total misunderstandings of the assignment, so I use it to make sure they're on track and to give them feedback. As far as giving points, with these papers, I read through and get an idea of how good it is, but I use the point breakdown as a way of showing them which areas need the most improvement (i.e., the sections that had the most, or any, points deducted).
But then, I'm apparently an easy grader. Most of mine were around 80-85%.
By
Anonymous, At
2:56 PM
I'm not a teacher, so I don't know the answer to your specific question about which method I would choose to grade. But as someone who hires, I thought I'd throw my two cents worth in. First of all, I did wonder if you should talk to the prof you're grading for to see what his goals, standards, and methods are. Maybe I don't understand the system you operate in, but it seems to me since it's his class and his assignment he would be the one to say how he wants things done. Or not?
I hire grad school graduates all the time to be psychotherapists. I pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation in resumes and cover letters. If too many mistakes are made, it goes in the trash. I get so many resumes that I have to look for reasons not to accept them. When documentation is a big part of the job, like it is for us, those skills are very important, at least to me. As I go over my staff's written work, I'm often pulling my hair out saying "How did these people make it through graduate school!" The poor writing quality is really disturbing. I wonder how they did papers in school - wasn't anybody checking for grammar and spelling mistakes? I really think, and my 62 year old secretary does too, that we were taught these skills better and more thoroughly when we were in school than they are now. So please correct those kind of mistakes, too. Tell your students they better learn how to write because it still is important in getting a job. At least if they ever interview with me. Whew! I feel better now.
Love,
Mom
By
Anonymous, At
10:11 AM
I choose d) Rough drafts are stupid
and 4) shred the papers and fling them gleefully into the air. All students get full credit. Nobodoy cares and grading papers is boring.
By
spidy_mn, At
11:52 AM
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