This chapter went over an issue that I was having this past week. In my student observation, I asked to read some of the rough drafts that the students wrote for a satire. Most of the students wanted me to read them and I wrote feedback on their papers for them to help them with their final copy. It took me the entire day to do these papers. Then when they turned in their final copies, I was given the opportunity to grade them. I really enjoyed it the first time so I enthusiastically said "yes".
However, it turned out to be much harder to grade their papers than to just offer feedback. I was given a rubric which graded them in three different areas. The entire assignment was worth 45. At first, when I started reading a lot of the students were way off topic and confused by the assignment. (based on their writing) I graded these papers, but didn't want to grade them too low since it seemed like no one was doing it correctly. However, then I began to read students' satires that were written very well. I gave these students higher scores and then I went back and changed some of the earlier scores because I had to make it more fair. Otherwise, the students with poor papers would have had grades that were only a little below the advanced students.
I graded 50 papers and I admit that I changed and reread so many of the satires that it was driving me crazy. Sometimes I would ask my mentor teach for suggestions and she would tell me a grade higher or lower than what I would have given. This made me feel unsure and I began to wish that I had never agreed to do it. I think it all worked out okay though. (I haven't recieved any feedback from my mentor teacher yet). I think this process will be easier for me when I get to create the rubric and I am the only one assessing the paper.
English is such a subjective subject when it comes to grading. There is a rubric to follow, but there is still so much room for your own opinion. It is a difficult process to complete when you are grading for another teacher. It took me 2 1/2 full school days to finish grading those papers and if I still had them on me I would probably still be checking to make sure that all the grades were appropriate for the quality of work that they did. It was a tough assignment for a 7th grade class, even though it was an honors class.
I have never heard of teachers using holistic scoring for major papers before. I wonder if anyone else has heard of it or used it before. It sounds like a good idea to give the teacher more time. I like the idea that the students are given identity numbers because otherwise this would never work. I think this is the only way to ensure that it stays objective. I would be interested to try it, but I probably wouldn't rely on it for all assignments. I want to read their work too.