Essential Guidelines for Fair and Effective Student Grading Practices (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Assigning grades. Actually, more difficult than it sounds. Here are some important guidelines when it comes to assigning grades for students. Number one, documentation. When it comes to grading, a teacher's word simply isn't good enough anymore. Be sure to record all assessments. Number two, be organized. A time will come when one of your parents or an administrator wants to view a test or an assessment that you've given out. It should not be missing. You need to be able to produce student work. Number three, confidentiality. Maintain confidentiality on all student work, especially when it comes to classified students. Remember, a student's grade is their business. Nobody else's. Number four, telephone. Give parents a call if you're afraid that their child is in danger of failing. Also, don't be afraid to give parents a call if they're doing very well in your class. Remember, parents want to be informed. Number five, give students a break. Give a borderline student the benefit of the doubt. Show them that hard work does pay off. Number six, students are emotionally attached. Just consider how students feel when they receive a poor grade. It's the same feeling a teacher gets when they get a poor observation or a poor evaluation grade. Some students do take grades very seriously. Number seven, no surprises. A surprise failing grade is when you might experience a meltdown from parents or from a student. They feel as though they've been betrayed if they got a poor grade that came out of nowhere. Students should have an idea of where they are and if they're failing. Number eight, pester students. If you see that a student is missing an assignment and is having a really negative impact on their grade, keep bothering them until they turn that assignment in. Don't allow your students to take a zero for an assessment. Number nine, grade blindly. It's a good tip to avoid looking at the names of your students on the paper as you're grading assignments. Blind grading doesn't allow for opportunities to be unfair. It's the best way to grade. And lastly, assess higher order thinking skills. Grading should not simply be recalling facts and just remembering information. Student grades should reflect application and evaluation of knowledge. So right now I just want to say thank you for your time and please subscribe to this channel.