Stop Pulling Your Hair Out! Grading Made Easy

Grading can be one of the duties we dread the most...but I am here to make it easier! Here are some tips that can make your life better.

1st- Make a plan at the beginning of the school year for grading and stick to it. It is easier to develop a plan at the beginning then trying to implement one in the middle of the year.

2nd- Try to find apps or websites that will grade assignments for you. There are several websites or apps that will grade the work and you can download a report that can be imported into your online gradebook.

Some websites/apps I use are:

3rd- Try to streamline some assignments and be very specific when giving instructions for assignments. You can use rubrics that will help you grade assignments quickly. Focus on the criteria you included in the rubric and grading those assignments should be faster and easier to grade.

4th- Sometimes I like to print out my class rosters and hand write the grades on the sheet then transfer the grades to my online gradebook. It may seem like double work but it makes the process go quickly when I input the grades online.

5th- Make a schedule for grading. I teach 4 different courses, so I scheduled my grading times. I graded 6th grade one day, 7th grade the next, 8th grade after that, late work after that, and so on. I inform my students what day I grade their grade level assignments in the beginning of the school year. By informing students of the grading schedule they will hold me accountable and make sure I am grading work on time.

6th- Put time constraints on assignments so students will turn in work before your report card/progress report grades deadline. Making your student deadline a few days before your grade deadline will help you from getting overwhelmed during report card time.

7th- Retrain your mind. Sometimes we have to change our mindset so we can change our outcome. Try writing down everything you need to do during the day to help you stay on track. Schedule your day as much as you can and make sure you put time in for grading every day. I find if I do a little grading every day (30 mins or an hour) that it helps stop that overwhelming feeling at the end of the semester.

These are a few things I do throughout the year that help me grade work for over 200 students every week. I hope these suggestions will help you :)!