Teaching Tip Tuesday - Grade Disputes* No matter how careful you grade, a few students will be dissatisfied with their scores. The holistic and analytical grading methods discourage (but do not prevent) disputes because they rely heavily on professional judgement, which is too sophisticated for most students to argue against. 1) Do not discuss a grade with an emotional student. Require him or her to cool off and submit his/her case for a grade change formally in writing (not email) with justifications citing specific material in the readings or lectures, within a time limit of 48-72 hours. Students who can not make a case in that time frame, probably do not have one. 2) You can agree to regrade the entire test or paper, which means you may find a grading error that does not work in the students favor. 3) Agree to regrade the item in question, but should you find no cause for a point change, you will subtract the number of points in dispute. However, you decide to respond to grade challenges, it is best to clearly state your policy in your syllabus and stick to it. *From Teaching at its Best by Linda B. Nilson which is available for borrowing from the Faculty Center.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 11:00:00 +0000