Grading handbook
This is an excellent resource from the University of
Maryland.
Download it from:
http://www.cte.umd.edu/teaching/resources/GradingHandbook.pdf
Marking for TA’s
A copy of today’s PowerPoint is on our CTL website
. http://www.ubc.ca/okanagan/ctl/tagrad/resources.html
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Marking for TA’s
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The Guardian
TA Marking - John Parry - UBCO -CTL
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FCSI.WS
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One of your assignments this semester is to
mark student work.
You have been handed a stack of 100 papers.
What information do you need to know
before you can begin?
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What do you need to discuss
with your supervisor?
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Develop a plan! Supervisors and TA marking
colleagues, discuss the following:
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unitymanagement
What should we communicate to the students prior to
submission?
What are the objectives of the assignment?
What should we look for in order to evaluate the
essays?
• What constitutes an excellent, good, adequate, or poor
paper?
• What should we include in our comments?
• How can we manage our time? How long should we
spend on marking?
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Discuss the following with your supervisor:
Clarify the relative weighting of content,
expression, format, grammar, etc.
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Discuss the following with your supervisor:
Clarify the relative weighting of content,
expression, format, grammar, etc.
Share sample essays to calibrate your marking:
have each marker read essays to locate excellent,
good, average, and poor. Share these and discuss.
Develop a set of attributes tied to each of the letter
grades.
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Stress expectations and university standards.
Include detailed formatting expectations.
Identify the required documentation style.
Clarify precise expectations related to
submission.
Discuss plagiarism, how to avoid it,
consequences, and process.
Double spaced ?
Binders ?
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SWBAT …
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Consider using letters (tied to UBC numbers)
rather than numbers. Sometimes numbers
communicate quality (A=excellent), and
quality is what you are looking for.
A+ 90 – 100
A 85 – 89
A- 80 - 84
B+ 76 – 79
B 72 - 75
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What does a good paper look like?
Average?
Failing paper?
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Sites.fcps.org
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Style
Complexity
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How much commenting should I
do?
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Comments that run through the paper should
help the student understand what they are
doing wrong or incorrectly as well as what
they are doing well or right.
These comments help the student understand
the grade.
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• A marking sheet helps reduce the amount
of writing you have to do!
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• A marking sheet helps reduce the amount
of writing you have to do!
• Your final, summative comments should help the
student understand why his or her paper
deserved the mark it received.
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• A marking sheet helps reduce the amount
of writing you have to do!
• Your final, summative comments should help the
student understand why his or her paper
deserved the mark it received.
• Include what he or she did right and what he or
she should do to improve on the next assignment.
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• A marking sheet helps reduce the amount
of writing you have to do!
• Your final, summative comments should help the
student understand why his or her paper
deserved the mark it received.
• Include what he or she did right and what he or
she should do to improve on the next assignment.
• End on a positive note (“I’m looking forward to
reading your next paper.”)
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Marking sheets and grade descriptions
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To identify standards, objectives, and
expectations for students (and markers!).
Consider providing students with self review
sheets that correlate to the assignment and the
marking sheets.
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Calibration meetings:
Seton.com
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Before marking, to discuss assignment
and expectations.
Early in marking, to recalibrate based on
sample papers.
After marking, to compare experience
and discuss difficult or special cases.
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If you suspect plagiarism or cheating …
Any papers that raise concerns related to
academic integrity must be returned immediately to
the instructor.
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If you feel that you are being bribed notify the
instructor and clarify the issue with the student.
If you sense that a student is depressed or anxious
notify the instructor, your unit’s administrative
assistant, the Health and Wellness Centre
(http://www.ubc.ca/okanagan/students/healthwellness/welcome.html).
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Always discuss in private
Be prepared to explain criteria
If you have made an error, correct it
Explain that the student should consult further
with the professor
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This is his first semester at A&M,
and Jeff is used to getting “A’s” in
high school. He has just received
his first “C” ever on the midterm in
the course you are grading. He has
emailed saying the test was unfair
and asked to meet with you. What
do you do?
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Careful planning and assignment
design can help students, streamline
marking, ensure fairness and accuracy,
and reduce questions and queries.
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http://www.cte.umd.edu/teaching/resources/GradingHandbook.pdf
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Grading Resources
Walvoord & Anderson (2009) 2nd ed. Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and
Assessment . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass (1998)
IDEA papers:
http://www.theideacenter.org/category/helpful- resources/knowledge-base/ideapaper
Improving College Grading:
http://www.theideacenter.org/sites/default/files/Idea_Paper
Nilson, Linda. B. (2003) Grading: Tests, Assignments, and Course Performance. In
Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. 2nd ed.
Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing p. 211-220
Edwards, N.M. (2007). Student self-grading in social statistics.
College Teaching, v 55, no. 2, p72-75.
Landrum & Dietz (2006) Grading without points. College Teaching, v 54, no. 4,
p298-301.
http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/teacher_resources/Rubrics/Rubrics.html
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en.hdyo.org
Comments
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