Grading

I don't like grading. It's a pain in the ass.

I understand (as do most people) the point in doing homework, and taking tests. It is important to take time to reinforce new material. It is important to check-up that said material has been retained, particularly when dealing with a cumulative subject such as math.

However, it can appear that homework often doesn't accomplish all of its goals. If students are to do a set of problems to reinforce some mathematical concepts, naturally it would be beneficial for them to receive as detailed feedback as possible so they can learn from their mistakes. But when faced with a stack of 80 pages of collected homework, each with 20 questions on them (making 1600 problems to check, for you non-math people out there), the idea of giving quality feedback is amazingly daunting. And, for all practical purposes, impossible.

So what to do? Since I can't go through every single one of the 1600 problems which are done nightly, I check a few per page. If the student has done all the problems, they get a check mark (full credit) for the assignment. That seems to work pretty well, except when some of my conscience asks the obvious question of fairness: "How can I ask students to spend anywhere between 10-30 minutes on homework nightly, if I'm only going to spend a handful of seconds reviewing their work?" Being an engineer, I am convinced there has to be a better way.

I'm not a person focused solely on the ends. As I regularly remind my students, the process matters. In other words, I require them to show their work. If they have the wrong answer, but their work is spot-on (except for absent-mindedly changing a 2 to a 3, or a + sign to a - sign), they will get most credit. If their thought process is off, or I can't see their thought process on paper, they will lose most credit.
The way I have explained my reasoning for this to my students is to ask, "Who here has ever walked up a flight of stairs?" Naturally everyone has. "And who here has climbed a flight of stairs, but when you've gotten to the top step, you thought there was another step, so you half-trip on a step that isn't there? Which is immediately followed by the a quick look around to see if there was anyone who was looking?"

One nice thing about grading is that I can do it at my leisure. Which means while watching TV. Or drinking a beer. Or wine... which has caused more than one "Oh crap!" moment as my drink has been spilled on students' work. (see The Simpsons: "I got a 'B'!" "No, Ralph. That's an 'F'. I must have spilled some Kahlua.")

I've been asked whether I grade things differently depending on the student. While of course, the official answer is no, the more accurate response is that I try not to. But it's hard. Students who come for extra help, who work their asses off but still can only muster a 59 on a test - sure, I find a way to bump them up to a passing grade. And sure, if the smart-ass in the class ends up with a potentially explosive grade like, say... 69, I find another point to give or take away.

It's hard for me when I want so badly for my struggling students to succeed. I find myself over eager to grade their tests first. (And then sometimes feel really bad for the kids when they have failed to reach a half-decent grade.)
Naturally the converse is true too, so that there are times when I see other students' work on the top of the pile which I immediately put on the bottom, muttering to myself, "Yea, I don't have the patience to grade your work right now."

I find that I talk to my students when grading their tests.
"What the hell are you thinking?"
"Why, why, why did you do that?"
"Oh Jeebus, you too make that same mistake?"
It's often no wonder why I find myself heading into the kitchen for a glass of something alcoholic to wash down the horrid mistakes my students have made.

So all in all, grading is a pain. But fortunately this pain can be eased with TV, frequent breaks, food and drink.