Wendy,
True, students tend to be more critical. I've had the most success by using rubrics which identify criteria and the conditions under which students will earn a grade. In this case, both instructor and student know in advance how they will be graded, and the student has an opportunity to conform to the preestablished guidelines that exist and that their classmates will be graded on. It's the most objective and fair method to use, at least for me.
Barry Westling
