1. Effective Grading & Rubrics
Erin K. Johns Speese

2. Tips from Nicole Sieben
“Relate and React to the Content/Ideas of the Piece”
Respond only to the content/ideas
Ask guiding questions
Give explanations as to why a revision needs to occur
Don’t offer much correction feedback or simply give grades

3. Tips from Nicole Sieben
“Provide a Balance of Compliments and Critique”
Suggested Positivity Ratio is 3:1
According to study, 3 positive comments counteract 1 harmful comment
Helps student to grow as a writer

4. Tips from Nicole Sieben
“Use Minimal Marginal Notes and Summative Endnotes”
No more than 4 marginal notes on each page
Give holistic comments at the end that address larger or consistent concerns
Phrase end comments as letters to students to personalize

5. Tips from Nicole Sieben
“Keep It Conversational and Ask Questions”
Frame suggestions as questions, i.e., Have you thought about…?
Try to keep tone conversational not confrontational
This tone tends to carry over into one on one conferences

6. Notes from Nicole Sieben
“Ask Students to Write Feedback Response Letters and Highlight Paper Revisions”
Allows students to assess their own writing
Asks students to think about what they can still improve in their writing
Maintains conversational tone
Helps students become more self-aware of their writing and revision process

7. Notes from Nicole Sieben
“Use Emoticons (Speak Their Digital Language)”
Use emoticons in places where students are attempting to illicit an emotional response
Shows students you are engaged with their ideas

8. Notes from Peter Elbow “Use Minimal Grades on Low Stakes Writing”
Use an easy grading schema for writing that is informal/low stakes
Scale with three levels: Strong/Satisfactory/Weak
Scale with two levels: Pass/Fail
One level: Acceptable by just being turned in
Zero scale: Not collected, meant for inquiry
Avoid making comments on these assignments unless necessary

9. Notes from Peter Elbow “Giving Grades More Meaning”
Using criteria but not grading each one
Using a minimal grid for grading, i.e., Clarity: Strong, Satisfactory, etc.
Makes it easier to see how the grade averages out

10. Notes from Nancy Sommers
Watch for comments that shift the focus away from the student’s purpose in their writing to the teacher’s purpose
Watch for contradictory feedback that might confuse students
Teachers’ comments are often not text specific; Anchor your comment to the student’s text
Take draft stages into consideration; What comments are appropriate for a first versus second versus final draft?

11. Designing an Effective Assignment
Overview the focus of the assignment
Articulate clearly the parameters of the assignment
Make it clear what the goals of the assignment are
Have learning objectives/takeaways for students
Articulate the evaluation criteria for the assignment

12. Designing an Effective Rubric
Decide if you want to implement a point scale or a multi-level scale (strong, satisfactory, weak)
Make a list of clear criteria that you will evaluate in the paper
Emphasize content criteria more so than grammar, sentence level concerns
Option: Leave space for specific comments on criteria when needed

13. Holistic Comments
Still include a holistic note discussing the overall feedback for the paper
Keep substantive suggestions for improvement at 3-4
Keep a positivity ratio. Don’t just focus on the negative.
Keep the tone conversational. Usually, a letter format works best.
Don’t overwhelm your students with feedback for improvement.
Use the rubric to your advantage, especially for lower level concerns like grammar. Check a box on the rubric and save the holistic comments for higher level concerns, like content, structure, argument development, etc.

14. Works Cited
Elbow, Peter. “Grading Student Writing: Making It Simpler, Fairer, Clearer.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 69, 1997, pp
Sieben, Nicole.  “Building Hopeful Secondary School Writers through Effective Feedback Strategies.” English Journal, vol. 106, no. 6, 2017: pp
Sommers, Nancy.  “Responding to Student Writing.”  College Composition and Communication, vol. 33, no. 2, 1982, pp