I have converted all my exams to Scantron (multiple choice). I plan on utilising our Portal so that students can upload their homework to me instead of paper copies that can get misplaced.
Jeffrey, Both excellent approaches that can significantly speed grading! What I love about the underlining method is that we really don't change the format that the students must respond in.
Dr. Melissa Read
Stacy, Sounds like a great plan. Many administrations invest in technologies that help their instructors speed the grading process. Learning more about what's available and utilizing the best resources can certainly help.
Dr. Melissa Read
The institution I work for allows for online testing at Quia.com. The standardized tests that come with the IRG are easy to transfer to Quia. The program grades and provides a grade printout by class that can easily be transferred to the grade book. Our grade book is also online on the company intranet. This does streamline exams and quizzes but not homework.
I give out a weekly schedule of what we will be going over and what homework is due and when. Most of the time homework and test are multiple choice or short answer so it isn't to time consuming to grade.
I also use scantron to aid in speed of grading, though I also give "practical" exams to further test understanding kinesthetically.
I like to mix my exams up to at least one computerized exam and an exam that contains essay questions. The reason why I add essay questions because it helps students develop critical thinking skills. And it allows my to see if they can accurately assess the material learned by recall.
Margaret, Great to hear that your administration chose a technology that helps make you more productive. It's wonderful to see these kinds of investments working so well for instructors. You might let your administration know about your success if you have not already, so they can consider this when planning for the future.
Dr. Melissa Read
Tralanda, This sounds like a perfect approach. While computerized exams can be graded quickly, they may not be as strong at testing critical thinking. Mixing up your exam formats to offer the best of both grading efficiency and testing knowledge is a perfect approach.
Dr. Melissa Read
I am fortunate to have a scantron machine to streamline the grading process.
I do have quite a few worksheets for homework assignments, but give points if they completed it, and then review the answers with the entire class to make sure they get the correct information.
I think it will help to use the online test taking tools; however, it can lead to students doing the work together and not actually doing it alone.
Giving the resources in this manual, I will definitely try the online grading system. I find myself making senseless errors trying to hurry and grade exams before the end of class. With the online system there is less room for these types of errors and it saves lots of time.
Aretha, This is true. Testing security is imperative. Making sure that each individual student is assessed separately is critically important to ensuring success. So as instructors, we balance grading efficiency with things like these.
Dr. Melissa Read
Elisa, That's a great approach. Sometimes test assessment is not about recording student grades, it's about providing the student with feedback. Sounds like you have a wonderful approach to do just that.
Dr. Melissa Read
I like to include multiple choice quizzes online that not only prepares them for the final exam I also gear them for their certification exam. What is nice is they are automatically graded and entered in my online gradebook.
We use a scantron, for the major exams and it is great. The quizzes are set up so the answers are off to the side for quick grading.
I do have an issue with letting students exchange papers for grading, as we have an issue with confidentiality. Some students are not comfortable with sharing their academic progress with other people, and privacy concerns have been voiced.
Most of the tests that I give are multiple choice but for the more detailed tests I am excited to try some of the hints given in this section and even to try the website that was mentioned.
Tara, That's an interesting point. Once online grading is setup appropriately, it's hard to make the same kind of human errors we make with hand grading. Improving grading accuracy is certainly a benefit to this kind of automation!
Dr. Melissa Read
Michael, Understandably so. One method for overcoming that is to ask students not to write their names on exams. Instead, assign them each a unique code number. This way, grading can still be anonymous.
Dr. Melissa Read
Based on this module I will NOT assign my exams or homework differently.
The majority of my exams are fill in the blank. I need to know that students are retaining what I have taught them. No offense to multiple choice tests but I prefer short answer cause then I know that they have to think about it.
Homework is already laid out the way it was discussed in this module.
