Practical, Authentic Grading
I have a great deal of nervousness surrounding grading, because I worry that in times of stress I may instinctually begin to rely on the harmful (or at best, unhelpful) grading practices that I experienced as a student. Teachers can use grades to bribe students into completing their work, resulting in student investment existing only when they feel threatened with failure. As many of us have seen, that threat only works with some students; if a student is labeled “failing,” without intentional and consistent interventions to support real change in their schooling, they will inevitably stop caring about their grades in order to cope with being failed and to maintain their dignity.
Kirby and Crovitz’ article on grading essentially calls for a shift in how we approach grading. The entire process of teaching writing, from initial instruction, to coaching and workshopping, to evaluation (grading), students need to trust that our focus is on developing their skills and confidence as writers. The alternative, that our goal is to move through writing assignments as quickly as possible only to stamp a grade (which they will process as a judgement) on their writing without explanations or opportunities for change.
I found the “Transitioning for Coaching to Grading Writing,” section beneficial, as it provides a list of concrete pieces of advice that I can follow to ease the experience of grading students’ writing. My worst fear would be approaching a stack of student work without a clearly defined plan for how I am going to provide authentic, fair feedback and grades for their work. Especially after reading an article such as this one, that fear dwindles and feels unrealistic. There are a plethora of strategies I can try out to make the grading process logical and just, for example, creating rubrics collaboratively with my students so that they have a degree of personal investment in the expectations we are setting. Also, focusing my grading on particular aspects of the writing process - this allows students to focus their efforts on certain skills rather than worrying about creating a “perfect” essays, while also allowing me to evaluate students’ progress on those skills instead of attempting to grade every aspect of their writing simultaneously.
With the support of my future co-teachers, I feel confident that grading will become increasingly approachable as a necessary, however challenging, aspect of teaching. I will need to consistently check in with myself, to make sure that my grading processes are in alignment with my teaching values.
Kirby and Crovitz’ article on grading essentially calls for a shift in how we approach grading. The entire process of teaching writing, from initial instruction, to coaching and workshopping, to evaluation (grading), students need to trust that our focus is on developing their skills and confidence as writers. The alternative, that our goal is to move through writing assignments as quickly as possible only to stamp a grade (which they will process as a judgement) on their writing without explanations or opportunities for change.
I found the “Transitioning for Coaching to Grading Writing,” section beneficial, as it provides a list of concrete pieces of advice that I can follow to ease the experience of grading students’ writing. My worst fear would be approaching a stack of student work without a clearly defined plan for how I am going to provide authentic, fair feedback and grades for their work. Especially after reading an article such as this one, that fear dwindles and feels unrealistic. There are a plethora of strategies I can try out to make the grading process logical and just, for example, creating rubrics collaboratively with my students so that they have a degree of personal investment in the expectations we are setting. Also, focusing my grading on particular aspects of the writing process - this allows students to focus their efforts on certain skills rather than worrying about creating a “perfect” essays, while also allowing me to evaluate students’ progress on those skills instead of attempting to grade every aspect of their writing simultaneously.
With the support of my future co-teachers, I feel confident that grading will become increasingly approachable as a necessary, however challenging, aspect of teaching. I will need to consistently check in with myself, to make sure that my grading processes are in alignment with my teaching values.
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