Graduate TA Handbook and Resources

Assignments and Grading

Worried about grading for the first time? Not sure how to create purposeful and challenging assignments? Fear not! With great power comes a multitude of resources. There are several articles and websites online that provide helpful tips and strategies for grading and assessing student work. Start with the links below and think about the tools and methods that will work best in your classroom.

Different Kinds of Assessments and Assignments:

• Writing quizzes and exams
• Crafting meaningful and effective assignments
• Examples of quick, in-class assessments to gauge student retention and understanding

On Grading:

• A general guide to grading student work
• Grading different kinds of assignments and exams (including group work!)
• How to grade quickly while providing more meaningful feedback
• An online tool to help teachers create and share rubrics
• The pros and cons of using rubrics
• A bank of rubrics from the University of Hawaii

Practical Matters:

Using Microsoft Excel as a gradebook: Learn the basics.

Pro tip: Blackboard allows you to both export and import an Excel sheet from its grade center, so you don't have to type all your students' names by hand or input grades twice.