A place for professors of Spanish Literature to complain about or defend the field.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Grades
The New York Times has an article about student expectations vis a vis grades. Just wondering what this august body feels about giving a C for an A effort. I sometimes suspect that I have fallen prey to the grade inflation monster.
I confess I try to avoid it by placing as many "objective" elements in my exams: dates, names, themes, etc. I have also begun making pretty detailed rubrics for papers so that I can easily justify to students why their grade was not what they wanted/expected. I don't think there is any easy solution, though.
I know I've fallen guilty to the grade inflation monster. I think there's a part of me that still hasn't gotten used to being an authority figure, and that part of being an authority figure means that I make the rules. I like the idea of a rubric. I try to incorporate some sort of objective criteria, although I have not published such a rubric in my syllabi.
I try to make grading criteria as objective as possible (quizzes, tests, of the sort described by D. Bacich), which basically means my "attendance and participation" component is very small.
However, whenever I teach a class for the first time (and that unfortunately happens too often; I have taught 17 different classes here) I don't hold the students to the highest standard knowing well that the class as a whole is something of an experiment.
Are you on quarters or semesters, Eric? I've been wondering when my new preps are going to slow down. As of this term, I've taught 13 different classes at Cal Poly Pomona in less than three years. Perhaps this explains my suspicion that the grade inflation cyclops has eaten me like a guilty herd of sheep (to twist that metaphor out of recognition).
However, I have been reading a recent MLA report on language and literature, which is excellent, and which I recommend to y'all. I'll try to post a link if I can. The report strenuously defends a) the study of literature (as opposed to other types of "texts") and b) the centrality of writing for both English and "foreign" language majors. For this reason, I have turned my 4th year literature classes into writing workshops of sorts, with no exams of the type Damian mentions. I do use those exams in 3rd year courses, and I like them. 4th year courses, though, are a problem. Should one grade the effort students put in or the excellence of the writing they hand in?
When it comes to grading writing, I try to split the difference between creativity and effort on the one hand, and technical stuff like grammar, style, and organization on the other. Also, when a student with really deficient writing (in all regards) struggles to improve over the course of the quarter, then I do reward that effort. As you all know, it is very difficult to teach someone to write in Spanish when his writing in English is sub par.
The good stuff is always posted and commented on when I'm not looking. As probably the last to comment on this particular post, I think most of the best comments have already been written. With language classes it's easier to go for objectivity and partial credit.I state in my syllabus something like "To get an A in this class you need to . . . Or to get an A on this paper you need to . . . I try to be as clear as possible and set the standards high. (As I write this I realize I need to be more clear in my lit course this semester.I have them write a one page analysis per week, but I don't think I've shown them or stated clear enough what an A is yet and we are already on our fourth paper.)
7 comments:
I confess I try to avoid it by placing as many "objective" elements in my exams: dates, names, themes, etc. I have also begun making pretty detailed rubrics for papers so that I can easily justify to students why their grade was not what they wanted/expected. I don't think there is any easy solution, though.
I know I've fallen guilty to the grade inflation monster. I think there's a part of me that still hasn't gotten used to being an authority figure, and that part of being an authority figure means that I make the rules. I like the idea of a rubric. I try to incorporate some sort of objective criteria, although I have not published such a rubric in my syllabi.
Hmm. Please excuse the mixed metaphor. I have fallen prey to the grade inflation monster.
I try to make grading criteria as objective as possible (quizzes, tests, of the sort described by D. Bacich), which basically means my "attendance and participation" component is very small.
However, whenever I teach a class for the first time (and that unfortunately happens too often; I have taught 17 different classes here) I don't hold the students to the highest standard knowing well that the class as a whole is something of an experiment.
Are you on quarters or semesters, Eric? I've been wondering when my new preps are going to slow down. As of this term, I've taught 13 different classes at Cal Poly Pomona in less than three years. Perhaps this explains my suspicion that the grade inflation cyclops has eaten me like a guilty herd of sheep (to twist that metaphor out of recognition).
However, I have been reading a recent MLA report on language and literature, which is excellent, and which I recommend to y'all. I'll try to post a link if I can. The report strenuously defends a) the study of literature (as opposed to other types of "texts") and b) the centrality of writing for both English and "foreign" language majors. For this reason, I have turned my 4th year literature classes into writing workshops of sorts, with no exams of the type Damian mentions. I do use those exams in 3rd year courses, and I like them. 4th year courses, though, are a problem. Should one grade the effort students put in or the excellence of the writing they hand in?
We are on the quarter system.
When it comes to grading writing, I try to split the difference between creativity and effort on the one hand, and technical stuff like grammar, style, and organization on the other. Also, when a student with really deficient writing (in all regards) struggles to improve over the course of the quarter, then I do reward that effort. As you all know, it is very difficult to teach someone to write in Spanish when his writing in English is sub par.
The good stuff is always posted and commented on when I'm not looking. As probably the last to comment on this particular post, I think most of the best comments have already been written. With language classes it's easier to go for objectivity and partial credit.I state in my syllabus something like "To get an A in this class you need to . . . Or to get an A on this paper you need to . . . I try to be as clear as possible and set the standards high. (As I write this I realize I need to be more clear in my lit course this semester.I have them write a one page analysis per week, but I don't think I've shown them or stated clear enough what an A is yet and we are already on our fourth paper.)
Post a Comment