I am having trouble completing all my classroom evaluations within my work limits. What should I do?

It’s not too late to make changes to your assessments. Consider the following:

  • group assignments instead of individual ones
  • fewer # of assessments
  • changes to grading, such as moving to a rubric or rounded grades (90%, 80%, 70%, etc.)
  • grading X out of Y questions (for example, marking questions 1 and 4 of the assignment, which has 6 questions in total. Of course, your students won’t know in advance which questions you’ll be grading!) 
  • offering less/no written feedback, only a number grade

Whatever changes or decisions you make, ensure it is consistent and clearly communicated to your students. Let them know why these changes are necessary (I am given X minutes per week to grade your work).

We also recommend that you send a note to your supervisor letting them know of your existing time constraint challenges. Here’s a sample message you can send:

Dear [Associate Dean],

I’m really dismayed that because of insufficient marking time, I wasn’t able to provide students with the feedback I would usually provide. In some cases, all they got was a grade. 

Students and faculty deserve better.

Regards,

[Your Name]