My Thoughts on Grading in the Classroom

When I taught 9th grade literature, I felt as if I never mastered the act of grading papers.  How many points should I assign to each question?  How do I grade essays (what is more important--grammar, content, clarity....)?  I figured it out as I went, but I still look back and wonder, "Did I grade too easily at time?  Too hard at others?"

These questions rushed back to me as I was reading Showwalter's Teaching Literature, especially chapter 3 in the section called "The Business of Teaching" in which Showalter designates two pages to discuss the issue of grading.  In fact, she starts out the section stating, "Grading is one of the most fraught areas of university teaching for everyone involved--students, teachers, administrators, parents, and politicians" (57). So, it's not just me...grading is a controversial issue for all involved.

In my Theories of Composition and Rhetoric class, we discussed the various focuses and theories used when teaching how to write.  We read and discussed Fulkerson's article, "Four Philosophies of Composition," in which Fulkerson lays out the four types of axiologies for writing:  formalist (values internal features divorced from content, such as grammar), expressivist (is very student-focused--self-discovery and expression), mimetic (demonstrates sound reasoning, logic, and accuracy), and rhetorical (effectively communicates and impacts a specific audience).  The reason I mention this is because Fulkerson suggests that teachers make it obvious in their assignments what type of response we want, and what we will be grading.  For instance, if you are grading the student from an expressivist standpoint, you should start the prompt with, "In your opinion, explore..." or "Express your opinion about..."  On the other hand, if you are grading a student from a rhetorical standpoint, you should state your essay prompt differently, such as, "Persuade..." or "Effectively demonstrate..."

Showalter makes a similar suggestion as Fulkerson.  She emphasizes clarity of assignments as well.  She suggests, "Giving students models of what you expect and how you will grade helps."  This makes a lot of sense.  Presenting students with samples of good writing and being very clear on what one expect can only help.  As a graduate student, I have found that there is nothing more frustrating than a professor giving unclear or ambiguous instructions.  I want to know how I will be graded and what outcome the professor is expecting.  Furthermore, an article that I was exploring from ERIC Digests by Bruce Speck, "Grading Students' Classroom Writing:  Issues and Strategies," suggests that teachers should give students clear expectations for an assignment as well as detailed feedback to help them with future assignments.

When I return to teaching again (whether it is at the secondary level or college level), I will be sure to be clear on my expectations for each assignment given, and I plan to give feedback.  I liked Showalter's advice of beginning with a positive comment and then indicating three specific areas of improvement (59).  Then the student is getting valuable feedback that he/she might actually read without getting overwhelmed.