Grading in Less Time with Greater Impact

Benefits of creative assignments

Assessments that require the creation of original work maximize student learning. When students communicate their ideas using different media, such as text, image, audio, or video, they can demonstrate their thinking, rationale, and insights in various ways. For instructors, grading creative assessments is an opportunity to provide meaningful feedback on a given, specific portion of a student’s response, which can positively impact learning.

Examples of alternatives to multiple-choice questions

Abstract Essay News story
Advertisement Executive summary One-minute paper
Annotated bibliography Film review Playscript
Brochure In-class free-write Podcast
Business letter Instruction manual Reading log
Case analysis Journal entry Reflection
Conference proposal Lab report Research proposal
Dialogue Literature review Term paper
Diary entry Long answer response Video presentation
Email Math problem

 

Grading strategies

Creative assessments cannot be auto-graded; therefore, you (as the instructor or teaching assistant) potentially will dedicate a substantial amount of time to grading and providing meaningful feedback. Strategies to minimize your time spent grading time can be categorized as:

  • schedule time dedicated for grading
  • design assessments with grading in mind
  • less is more
  • get some help from technology

Schedule time dedicated to grading

Block off reasonable amounts of time—long enough to settle in and focus on the task, not so long that fatigue affects your judgment. Perhaps a one- or two-hour block at a time? Maybe longer, as long as you schedule some breaks?

What is the best time of day for you to grade? What contributes to your productivity, such as having a quiet, undisturbed space? 

Try these time-saving grading tips:

  • Batch. Grade one item for every submission before proceeding to the next one (if appropriate, depending on the assignment). This method benefits consistency, focus, and time by lessening the transition time between items.
  • Take two passes. On the first pass, just read and comment. Review all submissions and look for what was done well and common mistakes. In preparation for the second pass, group the submissions by certain items, such as common mistakes. On the second pass, double-check for consistency and assign scores. 
  • Keep an eye on the time or, better yet, use a timer while you grade to help you stay focused and move forward. 
  • Estimate how long you require for each submission. For example, if you’re grading Question #1 for every student, and it takes 3 minutes to complete each one, set your timer for 3 minutes. This approach will help you feel confident that you give each student equal time and attention.

Design assessments with grading in mind

Consider scaffolded (progressive) assessments, in which students submit items at various stages of completion toward a final deliverable. For example, they could submit an annotated bibliography, an outline, a thesis statement or abstract, an introductory paragraph, or a complete first draft throughout the term. Use low-stakes peer review activities for students to provide and receive feedback on their draft components. A scaffolding approach can result in a higher-quality final deliverable, which is much easier to grade than a lower-quality one.

Provide clear instructions, a detailed rubric, and samples of work (perhaps from a previous term with student information redacted or something you create) to help students submit their best work and allow you to grade quickly and consistently. 

Less is more

You don’t need to grade every student's creation. Formative assessments are practice opportunities to build knowledge and skills for many reasons, including being prepared for summative assessments. Here are some ways you can grade less:

  • Provide an answer key for students to self-grade. Put students into small groups to discuss the answers among themselves.
  • Group submission. Are any of your assessments well-suited for completion by groups of 4 to 5 students, with just one deliverable handed in per group?
  • Pick one. For repetitive tasks, such as journal entries or problem sets, have students pick just one or two that they feel represent their best work.
  • Subset. For tasks with multiple questions (such as a homework worksheet), grade only a subset of the questions. You may or may not decide to let students know which questions you’ll be looking at.
  • Holistic approach. Do you need to use a fine-toothed comb? Instead of finding every little grammatical mistake, what is the most meaningful feedback you can provide to help students learn? What one or two things are they doing well? What one or two things can they improve on for next time?

Get some help from technology.

Canvas, the University of Alberta’s learning management system, includes SpeedGrader, a tool for grading and providing feedback on student work. Some desirable features of SpeedGrader include the ability to:

  • create and use a rubric, simply clicking to score each criterion
  • annotate submissions directly with your feedback
  • upload a feedback document for each student
  • provide audio feedback (instead of typed)
  • hide student names to grade anonymously
  • publish grades immediately or set a delayed release date
  • grade offline by downloading all submissions
  • and more

Additional resources

Canvas SpeedGrader overview for instructors (how-to article and short video)

Consistent and effective grading (Taylor Institute, University of Calgary)

Pearsall, G. (2018). Sustainable marking. In Fast and effective assessment: How to reduce workload and improve student learning (pp. 133-161). ASCD. (eBook, U of A Library)