17 Best Grading Practices and 17 Must-Know Tools for Teachers

Grading practices are essential tools for teachers to assess and evaluate students' performance effectively. Understanding the best practices for grading can help teachers develop a fair and consistent evaluation method. Teachers can leverage various strategies, tools, and techniques to enhance the grading process and provide students with constructive feedback. Explore the blog post to discover how to implement effective grading practices in your teaching approach.

What Is the Grading Process?

Grading is the process by which a teacher assesses student learning through classroom tests and assignments, the context in which good teachers establish that process, and the dialogue that surrounds grades and defines their meaning to various audiences. Essentially, grading is the evaluation of a student's performance based on specific criteria and standards set by the institution or the teacher. Grading practices vary across different educators and institutions.The central goal of grading is to assess student learning and provide constructive feedback to help students improve their performance.

The Importance of Consistency and Fairness in Grading Practices

Consistency and fairness are essential aspects of grading practices. Consistency ensures that all students are evaluated using the same criteria and standards, providing equal opportunities for every student. If grading is inconsistent, some students may be unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged, which can undermine the credibility of the grading process and the teacher's authority.

Fairness in grading practices ensures that each student is assessed impartially based on their performance and not on other factors like personal bias or favoritism. When grading is fair, students are more likely to trust the assessment and feedback provided by their teacher.

Creating Assignments, Evaluating Student Work, Recording Grades, and Communicating with Students and Parents

Creating assignments is the first step in the grading process. Teachers design tasks and projects that align with the learning goals and outcomes of their courses. Evaluating student work involves assessing the quality of assignments based on predetermined criteria and providing feedback to students on their performance.

Recording grades is essential for keeping track of individual student progress and reporting the results accurately. Communicating grades to students and parents is crucial for enhancing student learning and involving parents in their child's academic development. By communicating grades effectively, teachers can motivate students to improve their performance and help parents support their child's educational journey.

AI Essay Grader

EssayGrader is the most accurate AI grading platform trusted by 30,000+ educators worldwide. On average it takes a teacher 10 minutes to grade a single essay, with EssayGrader that time is cut down to 30 seconds That's a 95% reduction in the time it takes to grade an essay, with the same results.

With EssayGrader, Teachers can:

Replicate their grading rubrics (so AI doesn't have to do the guesswork to set the grading criteria)
Setup fully custom rubrics
Grade essays by class
Bulk upload of essays
Use our AI detector to catch essays written by AI
Summarize essays with our Essay summarizer

Primary school, high school, and even college professors grade their students' essays with the help of our AI tool. Over half a million essays were graded by 30,000+ teachers on our platform. Save 95% of your time for grading school work with our tool to get high-quality, specific and accurate writing feedback for essays in seconds.

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What Are the Four Major Roles of the Grading Process?

Feedback plays an important role in the field of education such that it provides information about the students’ progress or lack. Feedback can be addressed to three distinct groups concerned in the teaching and learning process: parents, students, and teachers.

1. Feedback to Parents

Grades especially conveyed through report cards provide a critical feedback to parents about their children’s progress in school. Aside from grades in the report cards feedbacks can also be obtained from standardized tests, teachers’ comments. Grades also help parents to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their child. Depending on the format of report cards, parents may also receive feedbacks about their children’s behavior, conduct, social skills and other variables that might be included in the report card.

On a general point of view, grades basically tell parents whether their child was able to perform satisfactorily. Parents are not fully aware about the several and separate assessments which students have taken that comprised their grades. Some of these assessments can be seen by parents but not all. Therefore, grades of students, communicated formally to parents can somehow let parents have an assurance that they are seeing the overall summary of their children’s performance in school (Magno, Lynn, Lee, & Ko, 2009).

2. Feedback to Students

Grades are one way of providing feedbacks to students such that it is through grades that students can recognize their strengths and weaknesses. Upon knowing these strengths and weaknesses, students can be able to further develop their competencies and improve their deficiencies. Grades also help students to keep track of their progress and identify changes in their performance.

This feedback is directly proportional with the age and year level with the students such that grades are given more importance and meaning by a high school student as compared to a grade one student (see Raven, 2010). Motivation plays a role in grades. Such that grade one students (young ones) are motivated to get high grades because of external rewards and high school students (older ones) are also motivated internally to improve one’s competencies and performance.

3. Feedback to Teachers

Grades serve as relevant information to teachers. It is through grades of students that they can somehow

Assess whether students were able to acquire the competencies they are supposed to have after instruction;
Assess whether their instruction plan and implementation was effective for the students;
Reflect about their teaching strategies and methods;
Reflect about possible positive and negative factors that might have affected the grades of students before, during and after instruction;
Evaluate whether the program was indeed effective or not.

Given these beneficial purposes of grades to teachers, we can really say that teaching and learning is a two way interrelated process, such that it is not only the students who learn from the teacher, but the teacher also learns from the students. Through grades of students, a teacher can be able to undergo self- assessment and self- reflection in order to improve herself and be able to recognize relative effectiveness of varying instructional approaches across different student groups being observed and be flexible and effective across different situations (Jorgenson & Jorgenson, 1993)

4. Promotion and Retention

Grades can serve as one factor in determining if a student will be promoted to the next level or not. Through the grades of students, skills, and competencies required of him to have for a certain level can be assumed whether or not he was able to achieve the curriculum goals and objectives of the school and/ or the state. In some schools, the grade of students is a factor taken into consideration for his/ her eligibility in joining extracurricular activities (performing, theater arts, varsity, cheering squads… etc.).

Grades are also used to qualify a student to enter high school or college in some cases. Other policies may arise depending on the schools’ internal regulations. At times, failing marks may prohibit a student from being a part of the varsity team, running for officer, joining school organizations, and some privileges that students with passing grade get. In some colleges and universities, students who get passing grades are given priority in enrolling for the succeeding term, as compared to students who get failing grades.

Placement of Students and Awards

Through grades of students, placement can be done. Grades are factors to be considered in placing students according to their competencies and deficiencies. Through which, teaching can be more focused in terms of developing the strengths and improving the weaknesses of students.

Tailoring Education to Student Competency Levels

For example, students who consistently get high, average and failing grades are placed in one section wherein teachers can be able to focus more and emphasize students’ needs and demands to ensure a more productive teaching learning process. Another example which is more domain specific would be grouping students having same competency on a certain subject together. Through this strategy, students who have high ability in Science can further improve their knowledge and skills by receiving more complex and advanced topics and activities at a faster pace, and students having low ability in Science can receive simpler and more specific topics at a slower pace (but making sure they are able to acquire the minimum competencies required for that level as prescribed by the state curriculum).

Utilizing Grades for Academic Recognition and Awards

Aside from placement of students, grades are frequently use as basis for academic awards. Many or almost all schools, universities and colleges have honor rolls, and dean’s list, to recognize student achievement and performance. Grades also determine graduation awards for the overall achievement or excellence a student has garnered throughout his/ her education in a single subject or for the whole program he has taken.

Program Evaluation and Improvement

Through the grades of students taking a certain program, program effectiveness can be somehow evaluated. Grades of students can be a factor used in determining whether the program was effective or not. Through the evaluation process, some factors that might have affected the program’s effectiveness can be identified and minimized to improve the program further for future implementations

Motivation

Motivation can be provided through grades; most students study hard in order to acquire good grades; once they get good grades, they are motivated to study harder to get higher grades. Some students are motivated to get good grades because of their enthusiast to join extra- curricular activities, since some schools do not allow students to join extra-curricular activities if they have failing grades.

There are numerous ways on how grades serve as motivators for students across different contexts (family, social, personal…etc.). Thus, grades may serve as one of the many motivators for students.

17 Best Grading Practices for Teachers and School Leaders

1. Align on the Why With Students

As a teacher, I always encouraged my students to ask why. If they didn’t think the assignment was meaningful, or they didn’t know why they were tasked with it, we talked about it together. When students understand the purpose of the assignment and the learning objective(s) associated with it, they are more likely to put forth their best effort.

Reflecting on Building Student Trust

In moments when you as the teacher or administrator feel uncertainty about the why, that’s an important opportunity to reflect on best practices. It’s also an opportunity to be transparent with your students, which leads to student trust. When I taught AP, I would often tell students that it was my responsibility to prepare them for the test, which is why we sometimes needed to buckle down and work through multiple-choice questions.

Balancing Test Preparation with Critical Thinking Skills

I would also explain to them how difficult tests were for me as a student, and how I wish I had more opportunities to practice, but also I could empathize with their apathy for multiple-choice. Sometimes, I would even share how as an educator, I felt split between preparing them for a test and preparing them to be critical thinkers and aware global citizens. This transparency created a culture of trust and respect that inherently influenced the way students showed up and participated.

2. Set Clear Expectations for Students

Regardless of the grade level, spend time level-setting expectations for assignment

Make sure directions are clear and concise.
Ask a volunteer student to repeat the instructions in their own words.
Take the time to ask any questions that need clarification.
Revisit instructions if needed, especially if the assignment is complex or has multiple components.
Share directions in a variety of ways for different learning styles.

3. Create a Visual and Digital Homework Board or Unit Calendar

This may differ according to grade level but create a visual and digital homework/assignment board. At the beginning of the week, spend time reviewing the homework board and due dates. Encourage students to take a picture, use their calendars on their phones, or write down their assignments in an agenda.

If an assignment has multiple parts, model how you might break up an assignment and make smaller due dates for yourself based on your own needs and schedule. Time management and forward-thinking are important life skills that students often need support in developing. There are many apps for grading that can assist in these skills!

4. Create a Grade-Level Summative Assessment Calendar

Students struggle to perform when they have multiple assignments due simultaneously. Create a grade-level Google calendar, or physical calendar, with summative assessments. If possible, try not to have more than one or two summative assessments due on the same day. Find summative assessment examples here!

5. Write Strong Assignment Titles and Descriptions

Providing enough pivotal information so students can be successful and making sure not to write instructions that are too verbose is a difficult task. Create a method for naming assignments that’s clear and consistent. Share which category each assignment will be entered in, and how it will be weighted if necessary.

6. Provide Exemplars When Possible

Exemplars can be difficult when you also want to encourage originality and creativity. Exemplars and models truly do help students understand expectations.

7. Encourage Student Self-Assessment and Reflection

Provide students with opportunities to assess and grade their work. Provide intentional opportunities for students to internalize feedback and reflect. For example, each student in my high-school English class had their own writing folder. When they received an essay or writing assignment back, they reviewed their grade and feedback. Then they created a writing goal for themselves.

This goal had to be specific and aligned with the feedback. For example, “better grammar,” or “stronger vocabulary,” are not clear enough. I will focus on sentence fluency by using a variety of sentence structures to improve my writing flow,” would be an acceptable goal. Students would then write this goal on top of their new assignment before submitting it. I would grade each assignment with that student’s specific goal in mind. Here are some extra ways to provide reflection and gratitude in the classroom!

8. Encourage Consistency

As a school leader, it’s important to encourage consistency when it comes to grading policies. Decide if grading policies are decided on a whole school level, at the grade level, subject level, or individual classroom level.

9. Set Grade Book Expectations and Deadlines

Set grade book expectations and deadlines and remind teachers in advance. Take time to review grade books with teachers and analyze student data. Here is a guideline to create grade books in excel!

10. Create Expectations for Regular Grade Book Checks

Encourage teachers to review their grade books regularly, and take the time to look over grades with students. Help teachers support students and offer to be present during difficult conversations regarding grades. Identify struggling students early and offer interventions and support.

11. Encourage Collaboration Regarding Best Grading Practices

Encourage collaboration within grade-level teams or subject areas regarding best grading practices. Teachers can take time to share model assignments, or bring upcoming assessments to review and receive feedback on.

12. Share Feedback Regularly with Teachers

Create a regular cadence for sharing feedback regarding grade book checks and grading expectations with teachers. Ask teachers how they could feel more supportive and offer to help create strategies to ease teacher workloads when possible.

13. Establish Standards-Based Rubrics

If everyone uses the same rubric to assess essential standards, learning is reinforced across disciplines and achievement increases.

14. Eliminate Toxic Grading Practices

Get rid of practices that impede achievement – such as the use of the zero, averaging, and others that discourage students and suppress effort.

15. Allow Re-dos and Updating of Assessments

Distinguish between feedback and grading, and allow students to submit their best work for assessment. Also, permit “grade forgiveness” (as practiced in many colleges) where students can re-do assignments and replace a poor grade with an improved one.

16. Don’t Penalize Practice

Rather than grading everything a student does, base grade assessments on final products, not all of the practice steps leading to the product. And be sure that the assessments are linked to common standards.

17. Focus on Demonstration of Learning, Not Task Completion

If a student can demonstrate that she can balance chemistry formulas, how many times must she do it for a passing grade? Too often, “rigor” simply means more work, not more challenging or demanding work.

18. Utilize Technology

Artificial intelligence tools, combined with human expertise, can help teachers save time when they’re reviewing student work.

17 AI Grading Tools Every Teacher Should Know About

1. EssayGrader

EssayGrader is the most accurate AI grading platform trusted by over 30,000 educators worldwide. It cuts down grading time from 10 minutes to just 30 seconds, offering a 95% reduction. Teachers can replicate their grading rubrics, set up custom rubrics, grade essays by class, bulk upload essays, and use the AI detector to catch essays written by AI.

‍EssayGrader is a versatile tool used by teachers from primary school to college for grading essays efficiently and accurately.

2. Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a free platform for schools that integrates online learning. Teachers can assign, collect, and grade assignments within the platform, facilitating easy feedback and communication between teachers and students.

3. Turnitin

Known for its plagiarism checking capabilities, Turnitin also offers a grading system. Teachers can provide feedback and grade assignments, combining these processes in a single platform.

4. Kahoot!

While primarily for interactive quizzes, Kahoot! can also be used for grading. Teachers can view quiz results in real-time, enabling immediate feedback.

5. Quizlet

Quizlet allows teachers to create study sets and quizzes for students. It automatically grades quizzes and provides detailed reports on student performance, aiding teachers in tracking progress.

6. Socrative

Teachers can create quizzes or polls instantly with Socrative and receive immediate grading. The tool also visualizes student and class understanding, helping educators identify areas for improvement.

7. Edmodo

Edmodo is a social learning platform where teachers can post messages, discussions, assignments, and quizzes. It includes an integrated grade book for tracking student progress easily.

8. Gradescope

Gradescope enables the grading of paper-based exams, online homework, and programming projects. It offers AI-assisted grading and provides statistical insights into student performance.

9. Moodle

An open-source learning management system with a comprehensive grading system, Moodle allows teachers to create and manage activities, assignments, and grades using various methods.

10. Formative

Formative offers live feedback, progression tracking, and quick assignment grading. Teachers can view student responses in real-time, guiding instruction and providing immediate feedback.

11. Nearpod

A tool for interactive lessons and assessments, Nearpod enables teachers to create engaging lessons with quizzes, polls, and assignments. Real-time feedback and post-session reports are also available.

12. Showbie

Showbie combines essential features for assignments, feedback, and communication in one platform. Its suite of tools enables differentiated feedback for students of all learning abilities.

13. Seesaw

Seesaw is a digital portfolio tool where students can save and submit work digitally. Teachers can deliver personalized feedback and maintain grades in one organized place.

14. Flubaroo

A Google Sheets add-on, Flubaroo grades multiple-choice or fill-in-blank assignments in under a minute. It computes average assignment scores, average scores per question, flags low-scoring questions, and displays grading distribution.

15. ZipGrade

ZipGrade allows teachers to grade paper quizzes with their phones. By printing answer sheets and scanning them, the app quickly grades quizzes.

16. ThinkWave

ThinkWave is a comprehensive gradebook tool supporting weighted grades and custom grading scales. It enables teachers to comment on assignments individually and generate reports.

17. Crowdmark

Crowdmark accelerates grading of exams and assignments, offering a collaborative online grading tool and analytics platform. Teachers can provide better feedback, track student progress, and predict future performance.

Save Time While Grading Schoolwork — Join 30,000+ Educators Worldwide & Use EssayGrader AI, The Original AI Essay Grader

The EssayGrader AI Grading Platform has been developed to assist educators in improving their grading practices for essays. This innovative tool has been designed to reduce the time spent grading essays, making the process more efficient and effective.

Time Efficiency in Essay Grading with EssayGrader

By using the EssayGrader platform, educators can save up to 95% of the time they would typically spend grading an essay manually. This time-saving benefit is made possible by the accuracy and efficiency of the AI grading system, which can grade an essay in just 30 seconds. With EssayGrader, teachers can achieve the same results as manual grading, but in a fraction of the time.

Customizable Grading Rubrics for Precision and Consistency

To ensure that the AI grading system accurately reflects the teacher's grading rubric, educators can replicate their grading rubrics in the platform. This customization feature allows teachers to set the grading criteria so that the AI system can grade essays with precision. Educators can set up fully custom rubrics to meet specific grading requirements for different assignments or classes.

Enhanced Grading Management with Class-Specific Features

The EssayGrader platform offers several features that enhance the grading process, including the ability to grade essays by class. This feature allows educators to organize and manage essays for different classes efficiently. Teachers can also benefit from the bulk upload option, which streamlines the process of grading multiple essays simultaneously.

Maintaining Academic Integrity with AI Detection and Summarization Tools

Another valuable feature of the EssayGrader platform is the AI detector, which can identify essays written by AI. This capability helps educators maintain academic integrity by preventing students from submitting essays generated by AI tools. Educators can use the essay summarizer tool to obtain a concise summary of essays, enabling them to grasp the key points quickly.

Global Adoption of EssayGrader for Improved Academic Feedback

The EssayGrader AI Grading Platform has been embraced by over 30,000 educators worldwide, who have graded over half a million essays using this innovative tool. With its time-saving benefits, accuracy, and customization options, EssayGrader is transforming grading practices for essays in primary schools, high schools, and colleges globally. Educators can leverage this tool to provide high-quality, specific, and accurate writing feedback to students in seconds, making the grading process more efficient and impactful.

What Is the Grading Process?

The Importance of Consistency and Fairness in Grading Practices

Creating Assignments, Evaluating Student Work, Recording Grades, and Communicating with Students and Parents

AI Essay Grader

Related Reading

What Are the Four Major Roles of the Grading Process?

1. Feedback to Parents

2. Feedback to Students

3. Feedback to Teachers

4. Promotion and Retention

Placement of Students and Awards

Tailoring Education to Student Competency Levels

Utilizing Grades for Academic Recognition and Awards

Program Evaluation and Improvement

Motivation

17 Best Grading Practices for Teachers and School Leaders

1. Align on the Why With Students

Reflecting on Building Student Trust

Balancing Test Preparation with Critical Thinking Skills

2. Set Clear Expectations for Students

3. Create a Visual and Digital Homework Board or Unit Calendar

4. Create a Grade-Level Summative Assessment Calendar

5. Write Strong Assignment Titles and Descriptions

6. Provide Exemplars When Possible

7. Encourage Student Self-Assessment and Reflection

8. Encourage Consistency

9. Set Grade Book Expectations and Deadlines

10. Create Expectations for Regular Grade Book Checks

11. Encourage Collaboration Regarding Best Grading Practices

12. Share Feedback Regularly with Teachers

13. Establish Standards-Based Rubrics

14. Eliminate Toxic Grading Practices

15. Allow Re-dos and Updating of Assessments

16. Don’t Penalize Practice

17. Focus on Demonstration of Learning, Not Task Completion

18. Utilize Technology

Related Reading

17 AI Grading Tools Every Teacher Should Know About

1. EssayGrader

2. Google Classroom

3. Turnitin

4. Kahoot!

5. Quizlet

6. Socrative

7. Edmodo

8. Gradescope

9. Moodle

10. Formative

11. Nearpod

12. Showbie

13. Seesaw

14. Flubaroo

15. ZipGrade

16. ThinkWave

17. Crowdmark

Related Reading

Save Time While Grading Schoolwork — Join 30,000+ Educators Worldwide & Use EssayGrader AI, The Original AI Essay Grader

Time Efficiency in Essay Grading with EssayGrader

​​Customizable Grading Rubrics for Precision and Consistency

Enhanced Grading Management with Class-Specific Features

Maintaining Academic Integrity with AI Detection and Summarization Tools

Global Adoption of EssayGrader for Improved Academic Feedback

Customizable Grading Rubrics for Precision and Consistency