DOC 150 Evaluation/Grading
Grading is one of the least enjoyable parts of being a college professor. Contemplating or receiving grades is often among the least enjoyable and most anxiety-inducing parts of being a college student. Grading is a necessary evil, but sometimes our orientation to grades makes them more evil than necessary. If we let them, grades get in the way of learning. I recommend student and teacher do all they can to not allow that to happen.
Instructor comments actually matter more than grades. As you quickly flip pages to see “what you got” on a returned assignment, remember that you are just about to block yourself from the opportunity to learn. If you stop at the grade—whatever the grade—that can happen. On the other hand, thoughtful comments, if you incorporate them, are the pathway to getting better. Grades induce emotions, but they are dead ends. Your understanding of instructor comments matters more than comments in a vacuum or comments unread. Keep in mind, too, that grades and comments are not a judgment on the qualities of the person who produced the work. Grades and comments are the instructor’s careful estimation of the quality of the work produced as it meets the specifics of the given assignment.
It’s important that you understand the criteria I employ to evaluate your work. We don’t typically have much critical distance from the works we produce until a lot of time has passed, and during the semester we don’t have enough space to gain such distance. This fact sometimes makes it difficult to understand grades or comments.
Please carefully read the comments I have made on your paper or project. Do your best to see what I mean and how the comments are linked to the ultimate grade I have noted. The grades I assign are driven by my observations of your work in terms of how well it executes the assignment given you. When I mark papers, I do not consider myself “correcting, but rather “marking” or commenting on papers or projects. While it is true that you can be wrong about things—Robert Zemeckis did not direct the 2008 documentary Man on Wire (he directed the 2015 biographical drama The Walk)—much of what you are being asked to do will succeed or fail based upon how well you analyze evidence or how well you execute specific creative tasks.
I try to keep the following scheme in mind when I grade your work. I use this scheme for each assignment—that means for media making assignments, participation, blogging, writing assignments, and presentations. I do admit that I expect your work to improve as the semester goes along, and that you change your work based on my comments. That also means I believe that the more you practice, the more you should be capable of producing higher quality work. My grading scheme:
“A” range means you did what the assignment asks at a superior quality level.
“A” work means that you met and surpassed expectations. You nailed the assignment, you were innovative, you were thoughtful and careful, you were energetically engaged, and you went the extra mile. Your original work is solid, smart, nuanced, surprising, aesthetically pleasing. If there is analysis, it is first rate, if not exhaustive. Transitions and the the progression of ideas–whether in writing, speaking, or in visual or aural media–is sharp and clear. Nothing in the work is sloppy or taken for granted. The work is polished and thorough and uncommon.
“B” range means you did what the assignment asks at a high quality level.
“B” work suggests you did more than simply complete the assignment minimum. Your ideas, analysis, imagination and overall execution are strong and even thoughtful. Depending on the assignment, organizational structure, the pattern and progression of ideas, critical analysis, poetic expression are all effective and engaging. Concepts are nicely developed, but may also suggest the need for more work to make it stronger. Easily fixed errors, clunks, and failures are rare.
“C” range means you did what the assignment asks.
“C” work means you accomplished what the assignment calls for. The work is on the appropriate topic and it is relevant. In writing, easily addressed sentence-level or transitional errors are sometimes present, but minimal. Focus does not wander overmuch. The work answers the charge of the assignment, but it does so in a way that leaves possibilities unexplored or important ideas undeveloped. In media, the piece is mostly coherent and relevant, if limited in imagination, effort, and execution.
“D” range means you did what the assignment asks, but at a poor quality level.
“D” work suggests an attempt to address the assignment that ultimately falls short. The work may be overly brief or severely underdeveloped; it may over rely on summary at the expense of analysis; it may wander, lack focus, or fail to rise to the level of standard academic discourse. Participation and follow through are clearly lacking. No matter the form, the work is sloppy, with a pattern of easily addressed errors and missed opportunities. As a whole, the work does not warrant the label “average” or “adequate” college-level work.
“F” means you did not do what the assignment asks.
“F” work means you failed to do what the assignment asks. It is incomplete, late, missing, nonexistent, or severely beside the point. This kind of “work” suggests that you have not taken the assignment or the class seriously.
When I mark papers, I typically use numbers as opposed to standard letter grades. If an assignment is worth 100 points a letter grade can be understood by figuring 90-100 for the A range, 80-89 for the B range, and so on. This class has 1000 total points. But again, I remind you that the comments are more important in the long run. Everyone wants to see “how they are doing,” but how you’ll do on the next assignment is often embedded in the returned comments of the last one.
If you are troubled or confused by a grade I have given, wait a minimum of 24 hours, read over my comments again, read over the assignment parameters again, read over your own work again, then schedule an appointment with me to discuss your concerns. I’ll do my best to explain my evaluation of your work. When we meet, please bring all relevant materials. We will not discuss your perception that you are a “B+ (or whatever) student,” and so the grade must be incorrect or unfair. We will discuss the work you produced within the context of the assignment’s specifics. While I do not offer instant, on-the-spot explanations of a grade you don’t like, I am happy to meet and have a conversation with you once you’ve had a reasonable chance to reflect on my comments, the assignment, and the work you produced.