Teaching Tips
Returning Graded Assignments Is Part of Learning Experience
By Sandra Goss Lucas
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1. The class periods when quizzes, exams, and graded assignments are returned to students are ____________________________.
Fill in the circle for the best answer.
- low points in the semester.
- adversarial, with students arguing for points and higher grades.
- a waste of time, since little content is covered.
- all of the above.
If you answered "d" you are in the majority, and often right. As Stephen Brookfield (1990) put it, "Teaching is the educational equivalent of white-water rafting" (p. 2). He was referring to the teaching ups and downs typically experienced by college instructors. Seldom is there a "lower" point in the semester than when we hand back graded assignments.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK
What makes the experience so painful? Whether we like it or not, many students are motivated by grades, and attempt to obtain as many points as possible from each assignment. Lowman (1987) argues that instructors encourage this Grade Orientation when they place more emphasis on the external reward of a grade than on an internal reward of learning (Learning Orientation) or when students are not given specific feedback on what they missed and the correct answer. Without structured feedback procedures classrooms can become battlegrounds or, at the very least, unpleasant. As Lowman (1987) so eloquently summarizes, "Evaluation is the single most important topic to the interpersonal rapport of a college class" (p. 71).
Some instructors try to avoid the situation by not providing feedback, saying they cannot take valuable class time to go over a quiz, exam or paper. This is not a good solution. Feedback is the best way to make a test a learning experience, a confirmed essential of learning. Students should be able to see how they performed on each question, what they got right as well as what was wrong. In this manner, students can see which topics they mastered, whether any problems exist, and whether their methods of study are effective (Jacobs & Chase, 1992, p. 7).
Students are entitled to information about their performance and Chickering and Gamson (1991) list feedback as one of their "Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education." As they point out, "Knowing what you know and don't know focuses learning. Students need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses . . . [A]ssessment without timely feedback contributes little to learning"(p. 66).
McKeachie (1999) concurs, saying tests "are important tools for learning and discussion of the test is a worthwhile use of class time" (p. 193). He adds that students also learn from their corrected papers.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
As with most teaching issues, advance planning is the key. By careful planning of your overall evaluation strategy; by meticulous development of your quizzes, exams, papers and other assignments; and by establishing procedures to deal with handing back graded assignments, the evaluation process can become a positive learning experience for both you and your students.
Using a diversity of evaluation instruments including essay and multiple choice exams, short writes, longer papers, group projects, mini-assignments, homework, oral presentations, and so forth provides a more valid evaluation of each student, especially given our diverse student populations. By including a variety of graded components, students with different learning styles and strengths have an opportunity to perform well on at least one component of the final grade. Students also should be less anxious about each individual assignment. I will concentrate on returning graded exams and papers.
TEACHING TIPS
RELIEVE STUDENT ANXIETY
Exams and other graded assignments should not be cast as "adversarial" activities. It is not the instructor versus the student. Graded assignments should be presented in the context of the course, as essential feedback and evaluation tools. This means that students need to feel that the assignment was fair. As Svinicki (1999) puts it, "Testing should not be a game of 'Guess what I'm going to ask you.' Students don't mind 'hard' tests as long as there are no surprises and they can recognize the relationship of the test to the course" (pgs 245-246). There are many ways to achieve this goal.
Relieving student anxiety surrounding taking quizzes and exams and writing papers has an impact on student views and emotional reactions when graded assignments are returned. Therefore:
- Do NOT make each assignment a huge percentage of the student's grade.
- Make the first assignment relatively easy.
- Avoid pop quizzes (Davis, 1993).
- Help students learn how to study; encourage study groups.
Be accessible before graded assignments are due so students have an opportunity to ask questions (Brookfield, 1990; Davis, 1993). This availability could include extra office hours, on-line office hours, or an extra review session.
Provide students with practice exams or practice questions, as often as each class period. This allows them to understand how the quiz and exam questions are written and to try to "think through" an exam question in a non-stressful environment. Practice questions can cover new material or be used as a review. By asking students to explain both why an answer is incorrect as well as why an answer is correct, they learn to monitor their thinking during test taking. Ask students to revise the question to make each incorrect answer correct. This is an excellent technique requiring them to analyze the material in more depth than just recognizing the correct answer.
Writing assignments or papers should be clearly explained and a scoring grid, or outline of how the assignment will be graded, should be attached. Students should know specifically how their assignment will be graded.
PROVIDE OPTIMAL FEEDBACK - EXAMS AND QUIZZES
If your quiz/exam was developed following psychometric guidelines, if you look at how the items performed on the exam, and if you allow students a civilized forum in which to voice their concerns, handing back quizzes/exams can become a critical thinking, learning experience-for both students and teacher.
Pick the 10 or 12 most missed items. This feedback does not take an entire class period. Enlarge these items and print them on a transparency. Go through them as you do your practice questions, talking about why the correct answer is correct and the incorrect answers are not. Show the students the item analysis for the question. By explaining those items, the majority of student questions are answered and students learn how to better think through exam questions, increasing the likelihood that they will do better the next time. Students can then be invited to go over the entire exam during office hours.
Break students into groups (Davis, 1993) to discuss the answers among themselves with "questionable" questions referred to the instructor for discussion by the entire class. This process often requires less time than going over each item in class and students report enjoying it more.
Offer students a postexam review session during the next class period. Addison (1995) found that students who attended such reviews when the exam items were explained performed better on later exams than those who did not. While a cumulative exam was given in the classes Addison (1995) studied, students in courses with noncumulative exams may learn material important for understanding later course content and something about their own thinking process during the testing situation. Although Addison could not infer a direct causal link between receiving such feedback and later test performance, the "findings offer further support for the value of feedback in learning"(p. 23).
Discuss common errors. When returning graded assignments ask students questions such as "How many of you made silly mistakes?" or "How can you avoid such mistakes in the future?" Students often will mention that they did not read the item carefully or they worked too quickly, common problems. Then ask, "What can you do to better prepare for the next exam?" Students will often come up with the idea of forming study groups or other good ideas for optimizing study time.
Deal with ambiguous exam questions. Questions that are ambiguous or could be interpreted as having more than one correct answer can occur no matter how carefully you have developed and proof read the questions. It is important to encourage students to engage in critical thinking by having a structure in place that allows them to make a case that either there is no correct answer to the question, or another foil also is correct. Such a structure not only decreases negativity, but it empowers students by encouraging them to analyze a question and research potentially correct answers, many of which they will discover are wrong, ending their appeal with no effort expended on your part. Consider a Request to Review a Quiz/Exam Item form available whenever an exam or quiz is returned. It is important that these forms be placed so that students have access to them without having to ask an instructor for one. The form is an organized way of asking for useful and necessary information.
The form allows students to make coherent arguments, and eliminates or decreases the teacher stress of evaluating student arguments in front of the class.
When going over the exam in class, students often want a decision about a particular item on the spot--not a smart teacher decision based on what we know about stress narrowing cognitive functioning! It is much less stressful to say, "You might have a valid point. Be sure to pick up a form, fill it out and return it at the next class period."
It is important to review all the forms. If necessary, reread the textbook explanation of the concept, consult other instructors, and review the item analysis. Then make a decision about the validity of each argument.
This process really helps students correct misperceptions. Since they must find supporting evidence for their argument in the textbook, many will figure out why their answer was incorrect before they finish the form. Others will not understand why they missed the item, but their argument will suggest a pattern of incorrect thinking that can be corrected by pointing out flaws in their arguments and noting textbook pages that explain the concept. Some times the argument is excellent and the question is indeed bad. Then the quiz/exam is re-scored and students are not penalized for instructor error.
Many teachers worry that a structured complaint route produces numerous forms to review but this does not happen. Seldom do I receive more than a few forms, most about the same two or three exam questions. Teachers also worry that students will challenge items late in the semester. Putting a statute of limitations on such requests, typically one week, easily handles this problem.
By following the procedures outlined above, class periods when quizzes and exams are returned become much less stressful, and students appreciate the opportunity to be heard in an organized and coherent manner. The whole experience has changed a dreaded, argumentative day into a learning experience.
PROVIDE OPTIMAL FEEDBACK - RETURNING GRADED PAPERS
A little advance planning not only makes handing back graded papers easier; it actually helps you grade the papers. Every major written assignment that I give follows several guidelines.
Grade papers blindly (McKeachie, 1999; Davis, 1993; Lowman, 1984) to avoid the halo effect. I give specific instructions about how the paper should be organized and actually give students a point for proper organization. Their name appears nowhere on the paper except on a separate sheet at the end.
Provide your scoring grid when the paper is assigned so students are aware of the criteria used to evaluate it. These criteria guide students as they write, helping them decide where to put most of their efforts, and which parts of the paper the instructor believes to be most important. Thus, when I return my graded papers, each student receives a criteria sheet with points in each area, and comments. When papers are handed back, the scoring grid is immensely helpful, conveying to students that I have graded their work fairly and pointing out areas where they have done well and those where they did not.
Provide comments on the paper and summarize them in the comment area of the scoring grid. After I have totaled the points and summarized my comments, I look at the student's name and enter it on the scoring grid. At this time I often add a personal comment to the student.
Provide avenues of appeal: encourage thoughtful student rereading and comments to you. I encourage students to ask me to reread their paper, but students must write responses to my comments on their papers before I will do so. This requirement alleviates fishing for points while allowing students who genuinely believe that their paper was misread an avenue of appeal. I seldom have more than one or two requests to reread papers, and I can almost always see where I missed a point or did not follow what the student was trying to say.
INSURE STUDENT CONFIDENTIALITY AND FOLLOW FERPA GUIDELINES
One important, and often overlooked, issue is student confidentiality. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) outlined student rights and institutional responsibility in handling educational records, including grades. These rights include, but are not limited to, how instructors post grades and return graded assignments. Some common procedures are actually against the law, such as posting grades by the last 5 digits of the student's social security number. The only appropriate method of posting grades in a public place (such as bulletin boards or on office doors) is to use a unique identifying number that each student generates. Most universities have moved to random generated student ID numbers or computerized grade books, where students can access their grades and information about the test (means, standard deviations, and other statistics) but cannot see other students' grades.
In the past, instructors often passed out papers and exams by sending the whole pile throughout the classroom or putting a pile of graded assignments in the front of the classroom and having students sort through them. It is illegal for students to have access to the grades of others.
PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO STUDENTS IN LARGE CLASSES
Setting up a routine for students to retrieve their graded assignments is especially important in large classes. Once students learn the drill, the time it takes to return them diminishes. Ask students to come as early as possible on days when graded assignments are returned. Consider dispensing the graded assignments outside the large classroom, before people from the previous class have vacated the room. Get help from Teaching Assistants, graduate students, and other instructors to decrease the time needed. Having several individuals returning assignments organized alphabetically by the student's last name can greatly speed the distribution process. Lowman (1987) suggests having Teaching Assistants in each corner of the room with part of the alphabet calling out student names. He says such a process can take 10 to 15 minutes in a very large class, but it is essential to return the assignments. He also advocates returning "papers with as much specific feedback and respect as possible" (p. 80).
Another option, requires some advance planning and work, but can considerably speed up the return of graded assignments. Make several sets of labels of student's names at the beginning of the semester. Then when an assignment is to be returned, attach the label to a manila envelope and put that student's assignment inside the envelope. Stacks of envelopes can be arranged alphabetically throughout the room, facilitating speedy retrieval. Because other students cannot see the grade, this is an acceptable method. (Thanks to Missa Eaton, a Psychology 100 instructor at the University of Illinois for this hint.)
It is unacceptable to not return graded assignments or to ask students to come to your office to get them. As Jacobs and Chase (1992) put it, "Unfortunately, too little feedback characterizes university teaching, especially in large classes. Often students are given only the total score and this is not sufficient" (p. 7). Advance planning can reduce the amount of time needed to return exams in large sections. It will take time but it is worth it.
SUMMARY
As teachers, we are "on our students' side," wanting them to be as successful as possible. We can promote student success when we plan our evaluation tools well; spend time developing quizzes, exams, paper assignments and projects; tell students how they will be evaluated; relieve anxiety about being graded; provide informative feedback; and allow them to question our evaluations.
Days when graded assignments are returned have become positive days. I no longer dread handing back graded assignments or worry that I have unfairly assessed student performance. Students are empowered to defend their work, to respond to teacher evaluations, and to learn from their errors. I do not think we can ask for much more.
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Chickering, A., & Gamson, Z. (1987). Appendix A: Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. In A. Chickering & Z. Gamson (Eds.). Applying the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Fall 1991, 47, 63-69.
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Jacobs, L., & Chase, C. (1992). Developing and using tests effectively. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lowman, J. (1987). Giving students feedback. In M. Weimer (Ed.). Teaching large classes well. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Winter 1987, 32, 71-83.
Lowman, J. (1995). Mastering the techniques of teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
McKeachie, W. (1999). Teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers (10th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Ory, J., & Ryan, K. (1993). Tips for improving testing and grading: Survival skills for scholars #4. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Svinicki, M. (1999). Four R's of effective evaluation. In B. Pescosoliod & R. Aminzade (Eds.). Fieldguide for Teaching in a New Century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Walvoord, B., & Anderson, V. (1998). Effective grading: A tool for learning and assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
SANDY GOSS LUCAS received her PhD in 1984 from Indiana University in Educational Psychology with a specialty in Teacher Behavior. She has taught at the middle school, high school, community college and university levels. She is Director of Introductory Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is on the program committee for the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology and is an active participant in departmental and campus programs on effective college teaching. If you have techniques for providing informative feedback to students, Goss would appreciate hearing from you at gossluca@uiuc.edu.
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TEACHING TIPS provides the latest in practical advice on the teaching of psychology and is aimed at current and future faculty of two- and four-year colleges and universities. Teaching Tips informs teachers about the content, methods, and profession of teaching. Send article ideas or draft submissions directly to Baron Perlman, Teaching Tips Editor, Dept. of Psychology, Univ. of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI 54901-8601; 920-424-2300; Fax:920-424-1204; or perlman@uwosh.edu.
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