The grading thread

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Halfway done! 23 research papers to go . . .

Woo hoo!

[Langue_doc]

Three more essays to grade. The grading isn't tedious, but comparing the essays to the drafts gets to be time-consuming.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Not sure where to put this, but since I'm currently grading... I'll put it here.

Student gets 196,000 % error for moment of inertia. Did not email me. Gotta' wonder what they're thinking sometimes...

[apl68]

Not sure where to put this, but since I'm currently grading... I'll put it here.

Student gets 196,000 % error for moment of inertia. Did not email me. Gotta' wonder what they're thinking sometimes...

You would think that an answer that far out would be enough to make the student think to double check the result.

Scary thought--maybe the student did double check the result.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Not sure where to put this, but since I'm currently grading... I'll put it here.

Student gets 196,000 % error for moment of inertia. Did not email me. Gotta' wonder what they're thinking sometimes...

You would think that an answer that far out would be enough to make the student think to double check the result.

Scary thought--maybe the student did double check the result.

You would think...

No idea what happened. Student never emailed me this semester. I had review sessions outside office hours, posted announcements, tried to get students to engage with me, but- no dice.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Done.

[Parasaurolophus]

I suppose I should mark one set of quizzes, and maybe a few essays. Ugh.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Hooray for those who got some grading done! Unfortunately, I am still behind, but I'm slowly creeping forward.

[wellfleet]

Me, too.

[AvidReader]

I managed 14 essays today--the end of a big stack of about 40 that have been weighing on me for days. Hoping to churn through some (essay) exams and works cited entries tomorrow.

AR.

[Parasaurolophus]

I suppose I should mark one set of quizzes, and maybe a few essays. Ugh.

Two quizzes, no essays. But a lot of emails and other bookkeeping tasks.

Also: it's really astonishing how many students are not capable of calculating their grade in the course so far. A number of my emails this evening were from students panicking about the final exam and needing to pass the course. But when you math it out, they'd need, like, 5% on the final to pass. It's really not hard to calculate for yourself.  /rolleyes

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I suppose I should mark one set of quizzes, and maybe a few essays. Ugh.

Two quizzes, no essays. But a lot of emails and other bookkeeping tasks.

Also: it's really astonishing how many students are not capable of calculating their grade in the course so far. A number of my emails this evening were from students panicking about the final exam and needing to pass the course. But when you math it out, they'd need, like, 5% on the final to pass. It's really not hard to calculate for yourself.  /rolleyes

I tried to make it easy, but I still have students who cannot figure it out. All of my course grades are additive (based out of 1000 points). The lowest quiz, hw and test is dropped and everything else adds together. There is a table in the syllabus which shows the range of numerical values for each grade. For example: 800-899 is a "B" and 700-799 is a "C" and so on and so forth. But, they JUST CAN'T DO IT!

[AvidReader]

When I taught high school, we had really odd grade calculations, so I spent a class period every semester teaching (or reminding) students how to figure out what grade they needed  on the midterm or final exam to pass or to make a particular grade. They told me it was the best and most useful class of the term (even more than "review for the midterm or final exam"). I can only hope some of them have carried that lesson on into college, because most of my current college students--like yours--cannot figure out grades out of 1000 points. I don't officially "drop" the lowest grade, but I have 1030 points available, so they can just add all the points they have earned over the semester. This, I think, is not that hard (though my old CMS gave them a running total, and current CMS does not).

I have a colleague who makes fancy grading spreadsheets that auto-calculate; students can fill in actual and imagined grades over the semester to see what is still feasible at a given point. This seems like a lot of work, to me, for something that is essentially adding, but I am sure colleague's students are happier for it.

AR.

[Parasaurolophus]

Kwell, today I should try marking all of the essays that've come in up until now (they're due early next week). I think it's only ten or so.

[Parasaurolophus]

Kwell, today I should try marking all of the essays that've come in up until now (they're due early next week). I think it's only ten or so.

Done, but one was thoroughly plagiarized. Sigh. There will be more.