Maintaining the Gradebook, by Tammy Gose, Business Education Teacher, Wilson Central High School

Grading can be overwhelming.  I usually find that about now is when I start getting behind.  I know that we are just two weeks into school.  All the information, paperwork and assignments at the start of school keep teachers so busy that we can get behind from the start.  I usually need an entire weekend in August to catch up and get a good system down to help me throughout the year.

     

Students can also be overwhelmed with homework, tests, and projects.  I will be the first to admit that my 10^th grader came home after the first week a little overwhelmed with all the class information and the fact that he had a test the next Tuesday.  It will only get more rigorous as the school year progresses for all of us.

Here are some tips/ strategies that have worked for me.  I hope they help you have a more smooth start to the school year.

• Develop a clear criteria for what you want the student to learn and focus the work on these few things.  It seems if I can target the skills I would like them to achieve then I can grade it easier and quicker.  This also saves me time if I have specific things written out that I am grading although it does take a little time on the front end of an assignment.

• Using Rubrics helps to target the work or standards that you want your students to achieve.  It also is a great guideline to make the grading process easier for teachers.  Before you panic, like I usually do, look on Rubi star, Pinterest, or Google for a rubric that fits your needs or could be adjusted to fit your assignments. 

• Don’t over comment on papers that you grade.  I have made a list of short to-the-point comments that I keep with me when I grade.  I have even taken pictures of the lists with my phone so I will have it with me wherever I need it.  This has helped minimize students and parent complaints.  I tend to write too much therefore it helps keep me on task and get to the point without adding confusion or negativity for the student.

• At the first of school and in my syllabus, I state my grading policy, procedure, and standards as clearly as possible to eliminate confusion or comparisons on the grades of returned papers. 

• Try not to modify your rules about grading late work or missing assignments, this creates more issues for you to deal with later.