Grading Tip

Students work hard to complete assignments on time. What students expect in return is your timely honest expert feedback and an appropriate grade. Students expect a rapid turnaround on their submissions. Returning projects quickly also helps the learning process. By getting feedback early, your students can utilize your constructive criticism more effectively. Notice the term “constructive criticism”. It is your responsibility as a teacher to build up, not break down.

There are teachers who never return projects to their students. They might be very knowledgeable, but the impression is that they don’t care. This could be very far from the truth, but perception is reality. If you give your students reason to think you don’t care, that will become their reality.

Only you know how busy you really are, so you should only assign projects that you can reasonable expect to return within one week. I always strived to return work within 2 class meetings. Always let your students know when they can expect their work back. Tell your students, “I know that you are eager to get your grades on these projects, but I know that you have put a great deal of effort into them and I want to make certain that I review and grade them as completely as possible to give you the best possible feedback”. What a rock star you are!

When grading, be sure to carefully read what your student have written. Your students may refer to their work for procedural or technical guidelines. If there are errors, a student may do something potentially dangerous. My theory is, “If they take the time to write it, I must take the time to read it”.

When grading, use green ink! Red has always been a sign of negativity. When we grade our students’ work, we want to provide healthy, positive, constructive feedback. By using green ink, you are implying a positive move forward, not the negativity of red. Just think of a traffic light!