Grading — and more grading! When you teach writing, that is something that never ends!
I recently saw an Instagram image of a teacher’s stack of grading for the weekend — next to a ruler. She had three inches of grading to do (insert sobbing here!).
While you can’t always eliminate it, there are ways to save time.
Here’s how:
When you were getting certified to teach ELA, they didn’t tell you the unspoken secret: you will be doing a LOT of grading. A LOT of grading.
Why?
You can’t teach writing with a scantron.
You want your students to think deeply about what they are reading, arguing, and thinking —
hence, the dreaded “answers may vary,” which means
YOU have to read and evaluate each response (insert lost weekend here!).
There ARE ways to simplify grading!
1. Begin with the end in mind: How will you grade this?
lessons that are needed to “fill in” (for example, how to quote material or cite sources)
3. Grade as you go
When students are working in class, use a “walking grade book.” Use a checklist (or just print up a grade book page), clip it to a clipboard, and walk around the room.
This is a great way to make formative assessments.
If an item you want to assess is a graphic organizer, ask students to place it on the corner of their desks so they can continue working, and you can walk around the room and assess.
This works well for homework or any work where you are checking that students have completed an item. For example:
thesis statement
graphic organizer
essay outline
introductory paragraph
fact collector
mentor sentences
journal entries
reading notes
And best of all: you didn’t collect any papers!
Learn more about a walking gradebook here:
4. What kind of grade does this need?
Be sure you know your school policies for grading.
Do you weigh grades? Put them in categories? Do you need to have a certain number of grades each week or grading period?
Not all grades are equal.
That means you should parse out your time accordingly. Consider establishing an E, G, S, U format. Each of those can equate to a percentage (100, 90, 80, 70 for example) — you can easily and quickly read and score work accordingly.
Additionally, if you “sort” students assessments this way, you’ve created conference groups — you’ve differentiated how you can meet the needs of each student!
5. What is going to benefit my students the most?
We’ve all been witness to this scenario: You return graded papers, students look at the grade, and then drop the paper in the trash on the way out of class (insert tearing hair out here!).
You’ve practically used an entire red pen on each paper, yet the students don’t even look at your comments and suggestions!
Why does this happen?
The assessment is over. Those comments, even when read and considered, will not change the outcome — the final grade.
That’s why formative assessments are so helpful.
If you want to provide students direction to improve their writing, read and comment on their drafts.
I use writing workshop notes to communicate with students through the writing process. By having a pre-printed form, I can check what I want students to do, and they can respond by letting me know what they did in writer’s workshop and what they feel they need additional help with.
6. How much help should I be giving my students?
Do your 8th grader need you to grade spelling and grammar?
I argue that we are doing our students a disservice by checking spelling and grammar for them! Yes, they are responsible for making sure it’s correct — and you should have conventions on your rubric, but you don’t need to mark each paper with those corrections.
Again, ask: “Where does the learning take place?”
It doesn’t happen when I revise, proofread, or edit their papers — it happens when they do it!
Draw a line in the sand — decide what you will and won’t do to help your students become better writers and what they must do for themselves. That’s why I love the “check mark system” (see #7).
7. The check mark system
When I am reading drafts, I place a check mark in the margin anytime I find a convention error (grammar, spelling, sentence structure) that I know my students already (or should) know how to identify and fix.
I don’t mark the error in the draft, just in the margin
What is wonderful about this?
the burden of discovery goes back to the students (where does the learning take place??!)
I am not using an entire red pen on each paper!
I can provide feedback on BIG PICTURE issues: argument structure, textual evidence, details, etc.
students don’t wonder what is important to do next — they can see my comments and address the check marks on their own
If students cannot figure out the reason for the check mark, I direct them to ask for help from a peer first (see #8 for more on that!). If they cannot find the error (and they usually can), I will help out.
checking for run ons, comma splices, and fragments
looking for spelling errors
checking for using quotation marks correctly
checking paragraph structure: is there a topic sentence?
When you ask peer reviewers to review specific items that they are already familiar with they will be successful reviewers.
9. Make a requirement checklist
Let’s say you’re assessing journals.
Rather than spending ten minutes wondering why you thought this was a good idea in the first place, create a little checklist for yourself. What are you assessing? Are you looking for:
depth of thought
details
addressing the prompt
using conventions
What is the purpose of what you are grading and what will provide the greatest learning potential for your students?
Don’t feel like you have to include every little thing in your checklist.
Remember #2 & #4 above, what is the purpose of what you are grading and what will provide the greatest learning potential for your students?
Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet for eliminating grading.
If you are going to be an effective writing teacher, your students must write and you must interact with them during that process. That’s how they are going to learn!
But, the good news is that you can streamline some of the grading processes — and reduce the volume of your grading.
Take the time to thoughtfully determine what you need to grade and how much feedback your students need.
Need more help? These Peer Review checklists will help!
4 Comments on Easy and Fast Grading Tips for ELA Teachers
What is the e, g, s, u that you mentioned?
E = excellent
G = good
S = satisfactory
U = unsatisfactory
If you are using percentages for your grade book, you can add a percentage for each – like 100, 90, 80, 70.
I hope this answers your question:) mp
I love the roam and grade method!!! My class was differentiated, so everyone was learning something different. I would have them bring their work to me when they were finished! It definitely helped me stay on top of things! Thanks for sharing all these amazing ideas!!!
What is the e, g, s, u that you mentioned?
E = excellent
G = good
S = satisfactory
U = unsatisfactory
If you are using percentages for your grade book, you can add a percentage for each – like 100, 90, 80, 70.
I hope this answers your question:) mp
I love the roam and grade method!!! My class was differentiated, so everyone was learning something different. I would have them bring their work to me when they were finished! It definitely helped me stay on top of things! Thanks for sharing all these amazing ideas!!!
You’re welcome!