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Monday, October 1, 2012
Evaluating Writing
What issues arise when you grade written work? If you have a grading process, please share it here.
7 comments:
Amy Rosonet
said...
My rubric does not contain an area for grammar or organization. Therefore, I grade pimarily based on content. As long as the information I ask for is included then they get the points. I realize this is sending the wrong message. I have amended my written assignment to include things such as grammar and organization. Again, this is a skill that I feel a junior/senior should already posses. As we have discussed in this seminar, it is not always the case. I am more aware of this false expectation now. I do not have a "grading process" just a grade rubric that spells out what info should be included and how much that information is worth.
When grading, my primary concern is consistency of grading and ensuring the rubrics clearly manage student expectations. Sometimes, I worry that personal mood and opinions towards the better versus mediocre students could impact the way assignments are graded. However, there are definitely things that I look for when grading papers (e.g. was industry analyzed thoroughly, trends stated clearly, etc.). I never thought to "write" these things down. I realize now that writing my expectations down prior to grading will streamline the process.
I do not have any formal writing assingments in my classes so I do not have a rubric. The majority of my assignments are reflection/reaction paper or self-evaluation papers. The grading consists of making sure they cover the minimum requirement and grammar and formatting issues.
I guess the major concern I have is being consistent accross students and make sure I am grading the same way for all.
I have typically utilized rubrics for grading written assignments. As Amy mentioned, my rubric has not contained an area for grammar and has primarily focused on content. While I haven't rewarded (or punished) students for grammatical and compositional errors, I do find myself editing as I read though. This is probably in vain for most assignments, as many assignments have not required to be edited and turned in again. That being said, I would say my primary issue with grading writing has been what to do when students struggle with written work. Perhaps by including grammar and organization in the rubric distributed with the syllabus, students will understand its importance.
In the past, I've graded for content, and in the case of writing proofs, for logical consistency and structure. In the past, I haven't used a rubric for grading proofs, though I think that may be appropriate. Being consistent between assignments and students is one of the issues that I deal with.
When I grade written work, basically I pay attention to content and written quality. Without a rubric, it was hard to give and justify the grades. For group works that are not many, I went over each group’s work and then put them into best, medium, worst work, and then differentiate the grades for each group.
After having seen and prepared some assessment reports, I developed a basic rubric according to the learning objectives, for grading country reports in my Global Economy course for MBA students. My rubric includes: Basic concepts 30%, Theory applications 30%, Written communication 20%, Graphical communication (figures and tables) 20%
For each part, I give a grade according to the quality of the work. Then add these parts together.
It makes the grading and assessment reporting work easier. But I feel a more detailed rubric for each part still need to be developed. That’s part of the reason I participate in this seminar to learn.
I have a lot of different writing assignments from journal entries and reading summaries to character analyses. I look to see whether they have followed the instructions in the syllabus for the assignment and whether it is as long as required, and then I grade for grammar and content.
7 comments:
My rubric does not contain an area for grammar or organization. Therefore, I grade pimarily based on content. As long as the information I ask for is included then they get the points. I realize this is sending the wrong message. I have amended my written assignment to include things such as grammar and organization. Again, this is a skill that I feel a junior/senior should already posses. As we have discussed in this seminar, it is not always the case. I am more aware of this false expectation now. I do not have a "grading process" just a grade rubric that spells out what info should be included and how much that information is worth.
When grading, my primary concern is consistency of grading and ensuring the rubrics clearly manage student expectations. Sometimes, I worry that personal mood and opinions towards the better versus mediocre students could impact the way assignments are graded. However, there are definitely things that I look for when grading papers (e.g. was industry analyzed thoroughly, trends stated clearly, etc.). I never thought to "write" these things down. I realize now that writing my expectations down prior to grading will streamline the process.
I do not have any formal writing assingments in my classes so I do not have a rubric. The majority of my assignments are reflection/reaction paper or self-evaluation papers. The grading consists of making sure they cover the minimum requirement and grammar and formatting issues.
I guess the major concern I have is being consistent accross students and make sure I am grading the same way for all.
I have typically utilized rubrics for grading written assignments. As Amy mentioned, my rubric has not contained an area for grammar and has primarily focused on content. While I haven't rewarded (or punished) students for grammatical and compositional errors, I do find myself editing as I read though. This is probably in vain for most assignments, as many assignments have not required to be edited and turned in again. That being said, I would say my primary issue with grading writing has been what to do when students struggle with written work. Perhaps by including grammar and organization in the rubric distributed with the syllabus, students will understand its importance.
In the past, I've graded for content, and in the case of writing proofs, for logical consistency and structure. In the past, I haven't used a rubric for grading proofs, though I think that may be appropriate. Being consistent between assignments and students is one of the issues that I deal with.
When I grade written work, basically I pay attention to content and written quality. Without a rubric, it was hard to give and justify the grades. For group works that are not many, I went over each group’s work and then put them into best, medium, worst work, and then differentiate the grades for each group.
After having seen and prepared some assessment reports, I developed a basic rubric according to the learning objectives, for grading country reports in my Global Economy course for MBA students. My rubric includes:
Basic concepts 30%,
Theory applications 30%,
Written communication 20%,
Graphical communication (figures and tables) 20%
For each part, I give a grade according to the quality of the work. Then add these parts together.
It makes the grading and assessment reporting work easier. But I feel a more detailed rubric for each part still need to be developed. That’s part of the reason I participate in this seminar to learn.
I have a lot of different writing assignments from journal entries and reading summaries to character analyses. I look to see whether they have followed the instructions in the syllabus for the assignment and whether it is as long as required, and then I grade for grammar and content.
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