A number of options for evaluating papers exist; evaluating a paper need not involve correcting every surface error and writing voluminous comments at the end.
- Give separate grades for form and content.
- Use "performance" grading: if students do the assignment, they get credit (or points). You make no value judgments about the quality of the work, merely decide what's an acceptable amount of work.
- Use "impression marking:" scan the paper and mark it based on your general impression of paper's effectiveness. Again, have a clear set of criteria in mind--or even written down--as you read.
- Use portfolio evaluation: rather than evaluating individual papers, evaluate a student's entire output at the end of the course.
- Evaluate based strictly on clearly defined criteria, which may be set out in the form
of:
- Contracts: you create a contract which spells out how much work and/or what sort must be done to receive a particular grade. The student chooses what grade to work for.
- Checksheets: you list the criteria for an acceptable piece of work and evaluate based on how many criteria are met.
- Scales: rank a student's work based on your criteria. Analytic and Dichotomous are just two of a variety of scales; examples are below.
| Low | High | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
General Merit |
Ideas | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Organization | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | |
| Wording | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|
Mechanics |
Spelling and Punctuation | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Grammar & Usage | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|
Comprehension |
Understanding of Terms | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Application of Concepts | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | |
|
Total Score: |
| Yes | No | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Content | Ideas are insightful | ||
| Ideas are original | |||
| Ideas are logical | |||
| Ideas are clearly expressed | |||
| Organization | There is a thesis | ||
| Thesis is adequately developed | |||
| Many misspellings | |||
| Mechanics | Awkward sentences |