The topic of grades is such a daunting subject for teachers. I'm one of the fortunate ones, because I have an Instructional Assistant in my room and she helps me tremendously with grading papers. However, there was a time when it was just me and many papers were filed in the folder titled "File 13" also known as the garbage can. I know, I know it's a sad thing to do, but looking at a stack of papers for over a month is quite depressing.
After reading the article "Tactics for Tackling the Grading Dilemma" I was happy to know I'm not the only one! Now for my grade level (3rd grade) some of the tactics are just not appropriate for my grade level....well it depends on the students. I love peer assessments! When children are trained properly this can be a sure way to keep on track of grades. Now self-assessments, I'm a little shaky on. I think this is great for secondary students, but I just think my 8 year olds are not ready for this method just yet.
Now I'll admit the best tactics in the article were student journals and one-n-four rule. Keeping all assignments (homework, classwork and journal entries) in a journal is genius! Everything in one neat note, needless to say but I'll be doing his next school year. This method is organized and easy to keep track of student work. Now the one-n-four, is something I've been doing for years, but I just call it, "File 13". LOL!
Now in order for me to stay on top of grades. I have to spend at least 20/30 minutes a day to grade papers. Repeat...20/30 minutes a day. Also, papers can't go home, keep them in school, grade them in school...that's the rule!
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