If you hate grading art, you are not alone. Maybe you constantly find other work to do to avoid grading. Perhaps you have a massive pile at the end of every grading quarter. Maybe you feel guilty because timely grading is crucial. It allows students to receive feedback and understand their progress and areas they need to focus on for improvement. Do you ever imagine an end-of-semester where you didn’t feel the guilt and dread?
Use a Rubric for Projects
Let me share some strategies that I developed over the years. First, use a rubric. A rubric is an evaluation tool that outlines the key criteria for an assignment. The rubric defines specific levels of achievement in a clear, objective, and measurable way. A rubric can help you save time in grading, both short-term and long-term. A rubric helps you provide timely, effective feedback and sustainably promote student learning. You can check out my rubric in this Word document.
I used a rubric. I started with a borrowed rubric that I morphed into my own over the years. In the rubric, students first state the project objective or objectives. At first, I had students write their own, but the ones they created were bizarre. I then began brainstorming the objective with the students halfway through the project, when they understood what they were learning and mastering. Usually, with some guiding questions, a review of their notes, and a look at their preliminary project work, students and I were able to craft an objective and criteria for the project. I then wrote the objective on the board for them to copy onto the rubric.
Have Student Self-Evaluate
Students then evaluated themselves on a scale of 1-5 on Originality, Craftsmanship, Use of the Elements and Principles of Design, and Preparation/Effort. There was space for student and teacher comments. After the students evaluated themselves, I evaluated them in a separate column.
Why did this work for me? It was quick. The students generally were more critical in their self-assessment than I was, although my grade went into the grade book. National Board Certified Art teacher Jenn Postma has had the same experience. She shares, “I also find the students to be much harsher than I would be with their assessment, but 90% of the time, they are dead on. They know the quality of work that they did, so nothing is a shock.” A middle school teacher who is also a fan of self-evaluation shares, “I have my middle schoolers grade themselves as well! Teaches them to be accountable for their own learning, and they’re accurate most of the time, too! I then grade them myself using the same rubric so they can see where my assessment might differ from theirs. It also makes grading a LOT more transparent.”
Having students evaluate themselves kept them humble, honest, and reflective. If I disagreed significantly with their grade, I would suggest a meeting to discuss, which rarely happened. Even if they never did it, it was at least documented that I suggested it. Their self-evaluation grade and comments could be helpful and insightful. They occasionally nudged me to raise or lower a grade slightly. It was helpful feedback for me as a teacher- what could I have done better? What things did a student struggle with that weren’t apparent to me?
Go Digital!
Over the years, my evaluation moved from a physical piece of paper they taped to the back of the artwork to a form they tuned in digitally through an online system, which varied by school and year. I used whatever platform the school was using. If you go digital, there’s no lost project. There are never piles of paper to drag home.
An art teacher who went all digital and highly recommends it writes, “I have started using Google Classroom. Students take pictures of their work and upload them to the assignment. It has made a world of difference for me! I no longer have a huge pile of artwork stacked on my desk, I can grade all assignments at once, then transfer the grades into the gradebook… When a student tries to tell me they turned in an assignment, I can look and tell in an instant if it was my error or theirs. I had my doubts at the beginning, but I’m a believer!”
Daily Grades
I’m also a fan of daily grades. You can call it a Studio Grade, Work Habits, Participation Grade, etc. These are things within the students’ control- arriving on time, doing bell ringers or other activities, getting projects and supplies out, putting them away, cleaning, listening when you do a demo, not talking over you, etc. Art teacher Sue Sanders does this too and shares,“I try to keep a roster for each month, and mark a plus (they’re trying) or a minus (off task, distracting others, etc.).” This helps students learn that everything they do is accountable for and contributes to their class outcomes.
Not every evaluation has to be long and involved. A checkmark will do many things and show that the student is on track and engaging with class expectations.
