Essay Robo-Graders Reward Form, Not Content

If you were appalled by the recently released study results that computers can score test essays as well as humans, take heart.  Machines are fast, but they’re superficial. As NY Times reporter Michael Winrip notes in “Facing a Robo-Grader?  Just Keep Obfuscating Mellifluously,” ETS’s e-Rater can grade 16,000 essays in 20 seconds.  But as an [...]

…and April Is Especially Cruel for Those Who Assign Papers

Those of you who’ve taken the WI workshop series have heard our spiel about how to save time when dealing with papers. Although it’s likely too late to redesign assignments, you might Consider separating commenting from grading.  Research shows that students usually don’t carry writing feedback from the end of one class into the next [...]

Teaching Tip: Grading, Like it or Not

Grading is generally the least favorite part of teaching for me, and this blog entry on the 5 stages of grading suggests that I’m not alone (thanks to Brian Flanagan for posting). A quick Google search turned up “5 things I hate more than grading.” Some folks couldn’t come up with five things worse than [...]

Fired for Tough Grading

Louisiana State has removed a demanding biology professor from an intro course midsemester and raised the grades in the class, reports Inside HigherEd.  Did administrators violate the prof’s academic freedom or rescue students from an untenable classroom situation? For a data-driven review of grade inflation in higher ed, check out the splendid graphs at  Stuart [...]

Teaching Tip #12 Situational despair: The end of semester paper

So, you gave a written assignment, with some directions and maybe even a rubric.  Now you’re sitting in your favorite grading spot and reading your students’ work.   The MIA thesis, the failing logic, the absent evidence, the atrocious editing – where did it all go so wrong?  Unfortunately it’s probably too late for this semester’s [...]

Should we grade student participation?

I’m posting this link in lieu of this week’s teaching tip, since I’m down in Richmond learning to create online seminars. I’m really hoping you all will share your opinions and practices on student participation. http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/reconsidering-grading-students-on-class-participation/

What’s Your Paper-Grading Practice?

Hofstra University fine arts professor Laurie Fendrich outlines how she tackles a stack of student essays in “4 days, 40 papers.” Team-teaching a large lecture course, Fendrich assigned one small essay, wrote all over it (too much IMHO), asked for a revision, and then awarded checks with plus or minus.  This assignment, however, she’s grading. [...]