We are all getting to that point in the semester where we have to start thinking about the grades we are going to give to each student, which means that we have to also start dealing with the stress of rationalizing to ourselves each student's grade.
I've been contemplating in my head over and over again, the concept of "fair grading." If every student attended every class meeting, had their workshop drafts done on time, and generally participated, then "fair" would be a much easier concept to grasp. But, alas, it never happens that way. We sometimes find ourselves pulling for certain students that display high levels of effort and at other times feeling somewhat ambivalent towards those students who do not attend class regularly or do all their work in a timely manner.
And I believe it's fine and palpable that effort and particpation should play a part in our grading. But to what extent should it be taken into consideration? Where do we draw the line that this student's grade should be raised and another student's lowerd based on factors outside of the work they have turned in? Do these somewhat external forces come into play only if a student is on the cusp, where a grade could easily go either way? Or are there circumstances to where a whole letter grade (a strong B to an A or a strong B to a C) can be changed outside of the grade the student got on each paper?
I have a student who has consistently turned in quality papers which appear well thought out, have a clear voice, and very few grammatical problems, but this student also has missed a substantial amount of class. When this student does show up, it is usually about 15-20 minutes after class has started and he just plops down in a chair and does nothing.
So what is "fair" in this situation? Give him an A because his papers were good? Give him a B because he is never in class? What about the other students that have rarely, if ever, missed class? If I grade this other student strictly on his papers, does that mean I have to do that with all the other students? If I take effort and participation into account, do I have to do it across the board, to every student? What's fair? Does it have to be fair? Can we/Should we grade each student on a completely individual basis?
I wonder.
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2 comments:
Let me know what you decide, Lee - because I have the same student in my class. I'm thinking "C" - reagardless of the fact that his papers more than met the assignment requirements, how fair is it to the other 15 students who trudged in to every class? Are we allowed, ethically, to use them as a consideration?
Yes, I see that I misspelled "regardless."
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