Grading Principles And Policies

Here are a few basic things you'll need to know even before you set eyes on your first paper to grade.

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• Grading

Be Fair, Objective, and Prompt

In other words, grade the way you'd like to be graded!

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• Grade as fast as you'd like your professors to grade your own papers — yes, that fast!

• If you're in charge of your own class, schedule a quiz or the date a paper is due on a day that's convenient for you.

• While you're doing the exam or assigning a paper, think concretely of what you're looking for in a good paper. It will accelerate your grading and will make it fair.

• Don't look at whose exam it is. You don't need to know until you're giving the final grade, or you may end up favoring (or not) a student. This is what you don't want to find yourself doing!

• On the other hand, it's good to see what an A test paper is and what an F paper is. Make sure in the end everybody gets the grade (s)he deserves.

• Clearly explain yourself when you're taking off points. Transparency is always appreciated. This way, the students will see what they did well or not and will get a chance to improve. You should have a valid reason for everything you wrote on their papers.

Grading on the Curve vs. Grading Against a Standard

Decide on your "strategy" for giving meaningful grades to your students.

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• If you're not your own boss, then consult with higher authorities (your prof, your supervisor) before making any decision.

• In some disciplines or some assignments, it doesn't make too much sense to grade on the curve and can be frustrating for the students who feel that have been tricked into a lower grade than what they deserve. It also makes the grade more repressive than it is, and create some kind of competition that is less visible if you grade differently.

• If you change your method over the course of the semester, try to avoid infuriating your students with a "I had to grade you on a curve because there were too many As"! You must have a valid reason for doing so and this valid reason be sound valid to your class as well, not just to you.

University, Departmental, and Course Policies

Make sure you know the policies that are specific to your department, since you'll have to implement them. Be aware of them before you break them!

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Every department has its own particular details and every course and instructor as well. Although some details may seem obvious to you because you're always in your own department, they may not be that obvious to your students. So be nice: let them know what's allowed or not!
The syllabus should give all the answers to students.

Here are some examples:

• Are they allowed to ask for help or use outside sources?

• Are they allowed to rewrite their paper?

• Are you dropping the lowest grade?

• Is there a way of getting extra credit?

Student Privacy (FERPA)

To put it simply: only the student in question is supposed to know his or her grade. So don't post the grades on your door, don't make them public, don't announce the grades in front of everyone, don't show the papers to the whole class.

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The best way to avoid breaking the rule here is to be cautious when you communicate the grades to your students: communicate the grade to the student in question ONLY — not to the whole world!

• There are some rare cases when you are allowed to communicate the grade to the student's family. But before you communicate anything to anyone who's not the student you graded, check the FERPA regulations on the USC website.

• If you feel ready for the challenge, take the FERPA test!

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