Grading and Giving Feedback

Basic Guidelines
This handout (from the Academic Guide) covers the basic guidelines for evaluating student work at CU/VŠM, including the grading scale, tips for giving feedback, explanations of grading rubrics and grade sheets, and information about incomplete grades and grade grievances: 
Grading and Feedback at CU/VŠM

Grading Rubrics
One way to provide feedback to students about their work is with grading rubrics. Assignments in CityU courses usually have grading rubrics corrpesonding to the grading criteria in the standardized syllabus. The rubrics can be found in the Instructor Guide or Blackboard Shell for your course. You can also develop your own grading rubrics or use/alter one of the examples below. 
Case Study rubric
Presentation rubric 1
Presentation rubric 2
Informative Essay rubric
Final Exam rubric (math)
Online Discussion rubric

Grade Sheets
Another way to provide feedback to students about their work is with grade sheets. These are easier to make, but require more comments than a rubric. You can also develop your own grade sheet or use/alter one of the examples below. Just remember that the grade sheet must correspond to the grading criteria in your syllabus. 
Essay grade sheet
Exam Essay grade sheet
Presentation grade sheet
Research Paper grade sheet

Giving feedback on student participation
Many CU/VŠM courses include participation as part  of the course grade. You can let students know how they are doing in participation throughout the term by posting partial grades as well as by giving them feedback about their participation. Below are two possible feedback forms that could simplify the feedback process:
Participation Feedback (classroom)
Participation Feedback (online)

Links to articles about grading and giving feedback
- Fast feedback, by Barbara Gross Davis, University of California, Berkeley.
- Grading class participation, by Martha L. Maznevski, University of Virginia.
- Ten simple strategies for grading writing, by Jennifer Sinor and Ian Kerney, University of Michigan.
- Commenting effectively on student writing, by Phyllis Frus, University of Michigan.
- Pedagogical theory and practice: Responding to student writing, by Sweetland Writing Center, University of Michigan.
- A method for grading essays in any course, by Candace Caraco, University of Virginia.
- Tips for grading IEP writing assignments, by Anne Whitaker, City University of Seattle, Slovakia
- Cooperative learning/Cooperative grading, by M. Lindner, Teaching Resource Center, University of Virginia.
- Motivating students, by B.G. Davis, University of California, Berkeley.
- Motivating students, Teaching Effectiveness Program, University of Oregon.
- Lost in the crowd? Helping individual students, M.A. Barnett, Teaching Resource Center, University of Virginia.

Getting Student Feedback

Feedback from Students
There are several ways to get feedback from your students:

1. Remind students to fill out the official online evaluation for your course. They can do this online at the end of the course after they receive the password from the admissions office. You will receive the results of these from your program manager after submitting the course grades.

The next three options can be done at any time during the term, several times if you prefer:

2. Set up a feedback folder on your course discussion board. Ask your students to provide constructive comments about the course. It usually helps to have some specific questions: what did you like? what helped you learn? what was difficult? what didn't help you learn? what changes would you recommend? etc. 

3. For more private feedback, send email to students asking for their feedback by email. You can just ask them to write an email, you can write them a few questions, or you can attach one of the feedback forms below (Feel free to change them).

4. Ask students to write a short course evaluation in class or with your midterm/final exam, or give them a short feedback form to fill out.

Feedback Chart
Feedback Thermometer
Feedback Questionnaire

Links to articles about getting student feedback
- Whose course is it? Students as course co-creators, by M.A. Barnett, Teaching Resource Center, University of Virginia. 
- Classroom assessment techniques, National Teaching and Learning Forum.
-Gathering your own student feedback, Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Sydney.

Last updated August 4, 2010