I really like rubrics, Barry. I feel that they are easy to use and very fair. I also felt, (as a student), that I was given the ground rules up front. That really helped me.
Debra Touhey
Hi Diane:
One thing that may help instructors when setting up a grading system is the use of rubrics that are handed out the first day of class.
Regards, Barry
Hi Randall,
Grading rubrics are good because they tend to limit the subjectivity in grading. Rubrics can vary in their effectiveness. If we are trying to get critical thinking skills reinforced, a rubric that only measures mechanics is probably going to fall short. I tend to feel instructor made rubrics are better than those provided by professional or textbook publishers, but not always. For me, a good rubric will measure the desired learning accurately and be aligned with my studentent learning outcomes (SLO's).
Barry Westling
Randall Aungst
ED105: What do you see as the biggest challenges to setting up a grading system?
Forum 4
Barry Westling, Facilitator
This issue for me is one that is critical, especially when dealing with new college students as I do. When I began teaching, only a few years ago, there was no real guideline for grading; only that constructive comments need to be attached to each task. Since then the school has developed grading rubrics for each task which let the student know exactly how much of the points is allocated to each aspect of the task, from writing skills to the various content issues. This has given me a clear direction and guideline for grading. For example it was very easy in the beginning to be bothered and consumed by the lack of writing skills in the beginning of the class and weight these issues too heavily, rather than focusing on the content issues. While writing skills is important and is one of the secondary objectives of my introductory class, to brush up students writing skills, it is not the focus of the class. Since the introduction of the grading rubrics I have found it much easier to fairly and appropriately assess the students based on the objectives of the course. Further it gives me a good guide to formulate my comments, again weighting the comments to the appropriate focus that is in line with the course objectives.
Hi George,
I really believe there are many ways to approach grading. But it all comes down to this: are we acurately measuring the degree to which a student did (or did not learn?). The best grading system in the world is fruitless if it doesn't measure the learning that occured.
Barry Westling
At our school, grading scales are established by the course's syllabus: for example, class participation is worth x%, tests are worth y%, projects are worth z%, etc.
The key, I think, is to be as fair as possible to the different learning styles of your students. Some students are not so good at taking tests, but good at hands-on projects, and vice versa. Most of the courses I teach offer some degree of hands-on, so I'm able to provide varieties of evaluation methods.
I use Gradekeeper to keep track of it all, btw.
Hi Natelle:
One of the pros of using the system you describe is that it takes a lot of guess work out for the students and instructors alike as far as grading expectations are concerned.
You're correct, a lot of students aren't strong test takers and often receive a lower grade as a result.
Regards, Barry
Makila,
You're right - finding that balance takes careful thought, effort, planning, and consideration of how best to measure learning. The students knowledge of the subject and perhaps their readiness for work in their career area is not an easy task. I think if we keep "Job Readiness" as the focus (along with student and course learning objectives), this will help direct where and how much weight the different categories should carry.
Another help is using a grading rubric to help determine what is most important to measure learning.
Barry Westling
The biggest challenges for me is distributing the weight of assignments fairly. I know that test are improtant, but some students have test anxiety and I don't want to punish them for a bad test grade when they do well in classwork assignments.
Miriam,
Choosing grading criteria is as impoetant as choosing course curriculum. Although it sounds simple, we want to place more weight on the most important topics. Arriving at that balance takes thoughtful evaluation and consideration.
Regards, Barry
Fair grading. I think it would be challenging to determine the right mixture of point values and assignments for the students to learn the material and yet not be overwhelmed by the amount of work for them to retain the material.
Hi Kevin:
Spending time with planning a grading system takes time, effort and thought to find the right balance. Sometimes, trial and error is needed to reach that goal.
Grading rubrics are good to avoid subjectivity with creative activities, such as is often the case with projects.
Regards, Barry
Hi Rebecca:
I'm glad you've found enjoyment in setting the criteria for grading. For some, it's a real chore.
For me the goal is to try to provide as much variety in determining waht constitutes the most weight (importance) and will reflect the learning that occured. Rubrics are great, as they tend to eliminate subjectivity, plus, everyone knows how they will graded from the get go.
Regards, Barry
Setting up the grading system seems to be easy for me. I guess if you know what you are placing on the assignments they should correspond to the grading part that I am doing.
I also use the Rubrics for any paper written, I was recently told that there are Rubrics for accounting assignments. I do those differently since I want to show the students where they have gone wrong on a particular exercise.
Hi Billie:
Grading sytems also should put the most weight of components on those areas that will best measure the learning. That doesn't mean there can't be an abundance of lower point value activities. But the bulk of the grade should be derived from what's most important.
Regards, Barry
Setting up a proper grading system helps the classroom with any expectations in the class.
Hi Gregory:
Boy, so true. Balance is key to accurately assessing the learning that is (or is not) occuring. Trial and error works in some cases. For sure, periodic assessment and reevaluation of the grading components should be planned as time allows.
Regards, Barry
Hi Henry:
It is a challenge to find that perfect balance of the various grading components. Sometimes it's trial and error until a right fit is found. Basing more weight on componets that will most accurately reflect the learning that did (or did not) occur makes the most sense to me.
Regards, Barry
Hi Latasha:
Balancing the weight of the different components in a course takes careful planning, sometimes a bit of trial and error, and periodic evaluation and revision as needed. We want to keep in mind graded comonents exist to measure learning. Finding the best way to do that can be a challenge.
Regards, Barry
Hi Eric:
I can encourage you by sharing that all teachers instruct their classes a little diffrently. If you have approved student learning outcomes (SLO's), and good daily objectives, then as long as these are met within the timeframe given, you're doing OK. The creative part is detrmining various ways to present each topic so the class is interesting, relevant, and meets course objectives.
Regards, Barry
