I was having a lot of fun grading the final writing assignment for my 1st year students at my visit school, but my optimism has been betrayed by their final exams. They are mostly terrible. It’s so sad. What’s going on?
The students are probably “playing it safe” because this is an exam. Did they see the same grading criteria that I started with?
Here are two essays. One has no grammar mistakes and should earn a 100%. The other has several grammar mistakes and therefore should earn a maximum of 70%.
My hobby is tennis. It is very interesting.We use rackets and balls. It is played all over the world. A famous player is Matsuoka shuzo.
My hobby is to listen to music. I really like to do that. So I listened to music every night before I go to bed. Sometimes, I sing songs very loudly, so my parents are angry. But I can’t stop to sing. I love to go “karaoke” with my friends. When I go there, we dance very hard! It’s very interesting for me. So I want to go “karaoke” as soon as possible when I finish tests.
I used my own judgment and gave the first paper a 70% and the second one an 80%.
This is how I think I will grade papers next time.
1. The maximum score is 10 points.
2. Write at least 5 sentences. Less than five sentences will be scored 2 points off per missing sentence. (4 sentences = 8 points maximum, 2 sentences = 4 points maximum).
3. Include at least 1 sentence with ____, ____, and/or _____. (grammar)
4. Spelling mistakes are 1 point off per two mistakes.
5. Grammar mistakes are generally 1 point off per small mistake, 2 points off per incomprehensible sentence.
6. Points are taken off for minimal effort. This usually means: two sentences that are too short will be counted as one sentence.
7. Bonus points are added for good effort. This usually means: advanced grammar or vocabulary, or a longer paper.