The grading thread

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Miracle of miracles... I think I'm relaxing a little over Break- AND I'm grading lab reports!

I plan to:

1. Finish grading some tests.
2. Catch up on grading lab reports (1.5 sets left).
3. Prep for next week.

[the_geneticist]

I'm grading pre-labs and some of the answers are so very, very wrong that I'm suspicious the students didn't pay any attention in the previous class.  Or didn't do the work themselves and relied too much on their team.

Getting answers that are beyond "blue, rhinoceros, triangle".   

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I'm grading pre-labs and some of the answers are so very, very wrong that I'm suspicious the students didn't pay any attention in the previous class.  Or didn't do the work themselves and relied too much on their team.

Getting answers that are beyond "blue, rhinoceros, triangle".   

That's always disappointing. I'm teaching an intro Astronomy lab and a lot of the kids do not know basic Math which is necessary for most of the labs.

[dr_evil]

I'm grading pre-labs and some of the answers are so very, very wrong that I'm suspicious the students didn't pay any attention in the previous class.  Or didn't do the work themselves and relied too much on their team.

Getting answers that are beyond "blue, rhinoceros, triangle".   

That's always disappointing. I'm teaching an intro Astronomy lab and a lot of the kids do not know basic Math which is necessary for most of the labs.

I also have quite a few students who don't know the basic math needed for my class. I've gotten the mathematical equivalent of "blue rhinoceros triangle," but no punctuation or proper spelling. Basically, they took random combinations of the numbers they had, hoping they'd hit on the proper operations. Supposedly, they have the math pre-req, but I don't see how.

I have an exam to write and I need to figure out a way to make it easy enough for my current group. For the previous exam, they set a new record in low averages for that test.

[artalot]

Really resisting the urge to ask a student if they wrote the paper while high. The instructions were to go into a specific room at the museum and analyze a work of art in that room. This student went into the wrong room (has never happened before) and wrote an essay that wanders around repeating itself and jumping between topics. For background, this student often comes to class reeking of a certain herbal substance. *facepalm*

[Sun_Worshiper]

Grading all day... Only silver lining is that this should open next week up to work on more interesting things.

[the_geneticist]

"Set Default Grade" is a blessing from Canvas.

[FishProf]

Emails from students asking me to tell them what they have remaining.

Look at the syllabus.  Look at the gradebook.  Tracking that is YOUR responsibility.

[waterboy]

Grading essays and I now believe some (most?) of the students were visiting a different galaxy listening to a different Waterboy say things 180 degrees from myself. Can't think of anything more plausible...

[Parasaurolophus]

Classes end this week. I do not have the energy for all of the emails, especially about work that's due. Answering them all will suck up all of my working time for the next few days. Ugh.

[OneMoreYear]

I, Dr. OMY, pledge to never assign this amount of work due near the end of the semester again. I think if I grade straight through Tuesday when I am not sleeping or conducting oral exams, the grading might get done. Maybe.

[the_geneticist]

This is our final exam week.  My patience is nearly out.  My prep time to get ready for next term is running short. 

I'm going to copy and paste "Your Final Exam was automatically scored by [LMS system].  There were no errors in the answer key." as a reply to all questions about the final. 
Do students honestly think that a grading algorithm will just randomly make errors?

[marshwiggle]

This is our final exam week.  My patience is nearly out.  My prep time to get ready for next term is running short. 

I'm going to copy and paste "Your Final Exam was automatically scored by [LMS system].  There were no errors in the answer key." as a reply to all questions about the final. 
Do students honestly think that a grading algorithm will just randomly make errors?

Yes. Even when you point out that a question was right off a previous assignment, (i.e. one where the answer was already clearly identified to them.)

[MarathonRunner]

I don't know if it's the effects on the ongoing pandemic, or what, but I've never had so many GRADUATE students completely ignore assignment directions. No, you can't use a different framework. No, you can't go over the word limit even if you apologize for doing so. So, you can't ignore one step in the required framework. No, you can't simply not address a portion on the assignment.

Ugh. I know the past several years have been hard on all of us, and things continue to be hard for many, but how hard is it to follow instructions for a graduate level course?

[Dismal]

^ Yes, my masters classes this year include the good students comprising the top half of the class who are as good as ever while the bottom half of the class is the worst I've seen. Those students seem content with not doing the readings, not keeping up so they can submit the problem sets on time.