The process of grading is a valuable measure of student learning.  We need to think about student success and how it links to our course goals, the assignments we give, and the testing process that we use.  This tutorial can serve as a guide for evaluating student work; it emphasizes the linkage between teaching and grading.  Grades are not isolated artifacts; rather, they are valuable as part of a process that, when integrated with course objectives, provides rich information about student learning.  The grading process can also be used for broader assessment objectives, such as curriculum and institutional assessment.  The grading process can yield rich information about student learning.  Barbara Walvoord’s suggestions can enable instructors to go beyond using grades as isolated artifacts and can help them make classroom grading processes more fair, time-efficient, and conductive to learning.

Assessment is not a bureaucratic process that takes place separate from the work in our classrooms.  Rather, it should be a key part of how we think about our work with students and their relationship to the mission of our academic units and our institutions.  Colleges, universities, and the individuals who make up our institutions have unique and complex cultures, policies, and allegiances.  Therefore, rather than take a prescriptive stance, honor the value and benefit of careful assessment while providing concrete, practical advice on how to work with others to enhance or create assessment practices that are aligned with both written and unwritten learning goals.  Consider the guidelines in this tutorial in the context of your educational setting readers may encounter.

Before you begin, take a moment to think about the following questions:

a.       How can you make assignments that are sustainable in terms of faculty time yet demand high-level student thinking?

b.      How can you develop criteria and standards and share those appropriately with students?

c.       How can you guide student work without hand-holding?

d.      How can you help students put full effort into the work you grade?

e.       How can you give effective and time-efficient feedback to students on their work?

f.         How can you use the grading system as a positive influence towards learning in the class?

This tutorial will help you to answer these and other questions you may have.

On the following pages you will find:

·      Seminar Materials: You will find some sample grading sheets and rubrics, research based teaching strategies, a check-list for students, and ideas on how to use time and space for learning.  You also can read about suggested assessment plans for your department. 

·      Quiz: Reflect on your understanding of Barbara Walvoord's theories about assessment.

·      Activity: You are asked to reflect on how you create assignments, motivate students, and link assessment to your course goals.