Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week in Class: Week Eleven 2013

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week in Class: Week Eleven 2013:

Week in Class: Week Eleven 2013

About this time of year, I’m feeling as distressed as the paint on this picture. I’m tired. I’m really tired, I’m ready for my first “break”, and thank the gods that we now have the whole week of Thanksgiving off (even if I hate the furlough cut in my pay).

I’m going to make this short and sweet. As the sun starts to drop at 5 p.m., I’m all about nesting in my home, and vegging in front of some quality Netflix, and…I’m not in the mood to grade. The problem with this? I’ve eliminated multiple choice tests (which you can grade while watching tv or listening to a podcast) and give weekly paragraph assessments (3-4 per week). The thing is, if I assign it, I really need to be willing to grade it. My co-worker and I were discussing this, and lamenting this as the downside of more “authentic” assessment in general, and Common Core (as we’re implementing it) in particular.

I have some ideas about how I”m going to handle things to get out of the grading of writing being a weekly grind, but I’ve always seen this as a central problem to this change in assessment. Writing is a labor intensive endeavor, and I’m dubious that that any attempts at automation will just