Food Science Education Research
The Lazy Professors Guide to Grading:
How to Increase Student Learning
While Decreasing Professor Homework
ABSTRACT: The busy instructor wants to help
their students learn but is often pressed for time.
This article presents 6 grading techniques that help
the students learn without taking a lot of time. First,
not grading an assignment saves time and can still
be valuable as long as the instructor carefully
structures it so the students still have an incentive
to complete the assignment and still learn from the
assignment. Second, students can grade their own
assignments and receive immediate feedback on
the correct answer using commercially available
scratch off sheets. Third, giving team rather than
individual grades encourages peer tutoring as long
as teams are carefully managed. Fourth, in-class
peer grading lets students learn from each other, by
reading how others did the assignment and
discussing it with their team. Fifth, doing an
in-class grading lecture over all of the students
assignments at once allows you to give feedback on
common mistakes and is especially helpful when
students are unclear on the assignment. Sixth, a
grading rubric saves time writing comments and
helps the students understand exactly what is
expected and is the basis for their grade. These
techniques can save time in grading while helping
the students to learn the material better.

C 2008 Institute of Food Technologists
S.A. Barringer
Introduction
Most educators are driven by 2 forces: the desire to be a good teacher and a
lack of time. We would all like to be outstanding teachers who can boast that
our students learn and retain our lessons, can think critically, and apply their
knowledge to practical situations. Unfortunately, many times being a better
teacher requires more time. Lessons need to be prepared, updated, and
rewritten. Homework and laboratory assignments need to be revised. Grading
needs to be done carefully with detailed comments. Grading is especially
notorious for taking a lot of time. To grade fairly and in a manner that helps the
students learn from our feedback can take many hours. Grading is time
consuming and yet it is critical to help our students learn. However, there are
some effective grading techniques that take less time than others.
Ultimately, grading ought to increase learning. While it is true that grades are
required and are viewed by some students as the only reason for taking a course,
as instructors we know better. The reason we want students to take our course is
so that they will learn the information presented. Grading is one tool to
encourage learning. However, some grading techniques increase learning more
than others. Therefore, the goal of this article is to describe some grading
techniques that improve learning while taking the least amount of time.
Technique number 1: dont grade it
The time savings in not grading an assignment are obvious, but what is
important is that the assignment does not lose any educational value. There are
several reasons why assignments are graded. These include the need to assign a
grade at the end of the class, the belief that students will not do the assignment
unless it is graded, and the desire to emphasize certain skills by grading students
on the achievement of those skills. The 1st reason, the need to assign a grade at
the end of the class, is certainly valid. However, most classes include many tests,
homework assignments, and other items so that generally there are plenty of
things that can be used to determine the final grade and therefore not everything
has to be graded. The 2nd reason, the belief that students will not do an
ungraded assignment, is even more valid. If the student sees no value to the
assignment, they will not do it. The argument that this assignment will help them
to prepare for the exam or teach them important life skills has no weight against
the time pressures of assignments for other classes and social opportunities. Thus
an ungraded assignment must have some compelling reason that convinces the
student to do it. The final reason, the desire to emphasize certain skills by giving
feedback on the assignment, is also valid. The ungraded assignment must still be
an opportunity to develop the desired skills in the student. Thus the challenge in
an ungraded assignment is to design it so that the student feels that it is
important to do, and that they learn from it.
MS 20070744 Submitted 10/3/2007, Accepted 2/3/2008. Author is with Dept. of Food Science &
Technology, The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH 43210, U.S.A. Direct inquiries to author Barringer
(E-mail: barringer.11@osu.edu).
Vol. 7, 2008Journal of Food Science Education 47
JFSE: Journal of Food Science Education
One example of a good assignment that can be left ungraded
is the progress report. Students in my capstone course have a
quarter-long project that they work on in teams. Every 2 wk they
are required to turn in an ungraded progress report. My primary
goal in assigning the progress report is to encourage the students
to meet certain milestones every 2 wk. I am attempting to
motivate them to get the work done throughout the quarter
instead of waiting until the end of the quarter to get everything
done. My secondary goal is for them to keep me informed of
what they are doing, so that I can provide feedback and
suggestions if they appear to be stuck or heading in the wrong
direction.
To ensure that the students do the ungraded assignment, I
make the assignment technically graded pass/repeat. On the
rare occasion a team does not do a good job on their progress
report, they are required to repeat the assignment until they
meet the minimum requirements. In 3 y of doing this, no one
has failed to turn it in or do the required revisions. As an
additional incentive, turning in their assignments on time or late
counts directly toward or against their participation grade.
To ensure that the students are still learning from the
assignment, there are a number of rules that I follow. First, the
requirements for receiving a pass on the ungraded assignment
are very detailed (Figure 1). There is no incentive to do more
than the minimum work, so any unclear directions will be
exploited by the students. Second, the students must feel they
receive value from doing the assignment. I have the student
email me the report and I respond to every email with personal
comments, which still takes less time than grading the
assignment. After the 1st assignment, they know that if their
report contains questions, problems, or any indication that the
project is not going well, they will receive a detailed email reply
and in some cases an after-class meeting to solve their
problems. Because they receive immediate, personal feedback, I
find that these reports get more detailed as the course
progresses. Thus the students feel that there is value to this
assignment while the instructor saves time.
Technique number 2: students grade their own
assignment
Having students grade their own assignments is an obvious
time saver, but it must be done in a manner that prevents
cheating. As a bonus, it can be used to increase learning and
retention. As a simple time saver, scantron sheets can be filled
in by the student, sent to the computer lab, and returned to the
instructor with the grades. This saves time but does nothing to
improve learning. However, if the student gives an answer and
receives immediate feedback on what the correct answer is, this
increases learning. This instant feedback can be created by
having the students record their answers using an online system,
or by recording their answers on an Immediate Feedback
Assessment (IF AT) form (www.epsteineducation.com), which
48 Journal of Food Science EducationVol. 7, 2008
resembles a scratch-and-win lottery ticket. An online system
works well, but it requires additional programming time. The IF
AT can be used with little preparation. With this form, the
student chooses the best answer by scratching off the
corresponding letter on the form, and either is rewarded with a
star or finds a blank, which allows them to try again. From an
educational perspective, one of the largest advantages of this
system is the immediate feedback. The student not only learns if
their original answer was incorrect, but also ends the
assignment knowing what the correct answer is and is less likely
to repeat their earlier mistake on the final exam. The student
receives partial credit for getting the correct answer on the 2nd
or 3rd try. The inventor of the forms has published a number of
articles showing that the immediate feedback increases scores
on subsequent tests compared to delayed or no feedback (for
example, Dihoff and others 2003; Brosvic and others 2004) One
instructor reported that after taking an exam using the IF AT,
83% of the students said that they wished they could use it in
their other classes as well (DiBattista 2001).
One example of how to use this technique to increase
learning, though not save time, is to give an individual quiz
followed by a team quiz. The students have been given a
reading assignment to do before class. They come to class and
are given a standard multiple choice quiz, which they turn in to
be graded. The reason for this step is that each student is
motivated to do the reading because each student receives a
personal grade for their work. This could be done instead with
the IF AT form, but doing the IF AT quiz with a team further
increases their learning. In the next step, students are put into a
team and given the same multiple choice quiz, this time with
the IF AT grading sheets. It is important to emphasize to the
students that they must reach a consensus on each answer
before checking if it is correct. Much of the learning occurs at
this stage, as the student with the odd answer argues with their
team mates as to why their answer is correct. This forces the
other students to reconsider their answers and why they believe
theirs is correct. This conversation is where peer teaching
occurs and allows the students to learn from each other. Once
they reach a consensus they scratch off the answer and find out
if they are correct. If not, they move on to the next answer. In
this way, they know immediately what the correct answer is and
their discussion has taught them why the answer is correct. The
score on the team quiz is frequently 100%, much higher than
the individual quizzes. For further motivation, an award can be
given to the teams with the perfect scores. It is the immediate
feedback that is most valuable about this technique.
Technique number 3: give team grades
The time savings in giving team grades are obvious because if
a team has 4 members, the number of assignments to be graded
is decreased to one-fourth the number required for individual
assignments. Learning can be increased because since everyone
Figure 1Example of
requirements for
receiving a pass on
the ungraded
assignment.
Available on-line through ift.org
Guide to grading . . .
receives the same grade, peer tutoring occurs outside the class
room as the stronger students help the weaker students so that
the stronger student can still get their A.
Team situations can greatly increase or decrease learning.
Team situations need very strong rules to ensure that the work is
divided fairly and everyone learns from the experience. Much
has been written on working with teams and it is wise to read up
on this before starting to avoid the obvious pitfalls (for instance,
Millis and Cottell 1998; Oakley and others 2004).
There are some rules that I have found to be very helpful
when working with teams. First, under no circumstances allow
the team to break up. When I have allowed teams to break up, 2
things happened. First, the grades of each team member were
lower than the grades for the other teams. This surprised me the
1st time it happened. I expected the weaker students to receive
low grades but the stronger students to retain their high grades.
However, the value of peer teaching is as much to the strong
student as to the weak. The student doing the teaching
reinforces their own good habits and understands the topic
better when they are finished. In addition, even the weak
student can point out flaws in the work of the strong student.
Also, since the students were working on a team project, it was
obvious that once the team broke up communication stopped.
Each student wrote a different section of the final paper for the
project, and the different sections were missing parts. For
instance, the results section mentioned results of tests that were
not described in the methods section, and the introduction
reviewed a different area than was covered in the results. Some
students prefer working alone, and if this is left as an option they
will not make the effort to overcome difficulties with their team
members and they miss the opportunity to learn some very
important lessons about working with difficult people.
A 2nd rule is that each student must have an individual part
of the assignment. If this is not clearly laid out, the strongest
student will tend to take over and do all of the assignment, to be
sure it is done correctly, and leave the rest of the team out. Or
alternately, one student decides that they do not need to work
on this particular project and leaves all of the work to their team
Available on-line through ift.org
members. In either case, the team falls apart, but it is not always
obvious to the instructor because the final product may be very
well done. However, if each student is given a role, for instance,
each is assigned to write a different section, with one student
assigned to be the leader, this is less likely to occur. The student
both feels a personal responsibility to complete their assignment
and protests if a domineering student tries to take over their
personal assignment.
A 3rd rule is that if teamwork is a large part of the class, it can
be helpful for the students to switch to a new team halfway
through the quarter. Some students are disruptive to the team
and while the instructor tries to take this in consideration when
calculating their team members grades, those team members
need a chance to experience working with well functioning
teams as well. However, switching teams needs to be balanced
with the desirability of learning to work through issues with the
same people. If teams switch too often, there is no incentive to
work out problems, since it will go away in a few weeks
anyway. Only if they stay together is there an incentive to work
out their differences. Thus if teamwork is a very small part of the
class it makes more sense to keep the teams intact. While the
result of teamwork is usually better learning, even in the worst
situation the student has learned valuable life lessons in
negotiation and persuasion.
A 4th rule is that the teams must set up rules and
consequences that each team member signs and gives to the
instructor. This establishes rules of conduct and deadlines that
everyone agrees to meet. While it does not eliminate problems
due to differences in work ethic, it does eliminate problems
caused by unstated assumptions about deadlines and behavior. I
give them examples from previous years, such as those given in
Figure 2.
The last rule is that every 2 wk the team members evaluate
each other for the instructor (Figure 3). The instructor initially
emails and later meets with the students who receive low
evaluations. This feedback corrects many of the problems. In
some cases, the student receiving low evaluations seems quite
surprised. In private meetings, I have given them advice about
Figure 2Example
of possible team
rules and
consequences.
Vol. 7, 2008Journal of Food Science Education 49
JFSE: Journal of Food Science Education
volunteering for team tasks, asking team members if anything
else needs to be done before leaving a meeting, and making
sure that everyone knows the work that team member is doing.
In about half of the cases, this has resulted in much higher
subsequent evaluations. Special attention should be paid to
evaluations that comment that a team member is domineering,
even if they are not given low ratings. These students tend to be
the top of the class and are frequently blind to the concept that
doing all of the work themselves is insulting to the other team
members. A short conversation with these students can
dramatically improve the morale of their team, as well as
teaching them things they need to know about life.
It is helpful if the 1st team leader that is assigned is a strong
leader so that the team gets off on a good footing. Assigning the
leader instead of allowing them to choose forces them to lead
on a topic that may not be their greatest strength. While they
complain about this, I consider it a bonus when one of the team
members is an expert in the area and is forced to teach the
leader everything they know so that the leader can make the
presentation and answer the questions.
An example of this is a team paper I assign in my capstone
course. The team is assigned a project and must turn in a team
paper, which will receive a team grade. Each team member is
assigned a role, which rotates for different assignments so that
each member is in each role once. The leader is inevitably the
most important role, because this person is responsible for
50 Journal of Food Science EducationVol. 7, 2008
getting all of the work done and the paper turned in. Another
student has been assigned to lead the initial brainstorming
session and a third student is assigned as the official critic, who
is to criticize the paper as it is written. While the leader is
responsible for assembling the paper, the entire team receives
the final grade. In addition, every team member is assigned to
write a different section of the paper and have it to the leader a
week before the due date. If these sections are poorly written it
is the leaders right and responsibility to revise these sections as
needed. Since the team works together, they benefit from their
combined expertise and ideas, resulting in a better paper than if
it were done individually. Since students are also in time deficit,
they are given class time to work on these assignments. In
general, team situations require careful guidance but can result
in the greatest learning.
Technique number 4: in-class peer grading
When students grade each others work, they save the
instructor time but more importantly this is one of the most
valuable learning experiences you can give them. Having
written a paper on a topic, the student then gets to read how
another student approached the exact same problem, frequently
from a very different angle. In some cases, students get to see
their assignment done in a much better manner. In other cases,
they read work that is less clear than theirs, but having to write a
Figure 3
Evaluation
of
individuals
by team
members.
Available on-line through ift.org
Guide to grading . . .
critique of why it is not good work is a valuable learning
experience.
To maximize the learning that occurs with this exercise, this
should be done as a team, with the following rules enforced.
The team only receives one copy of the paper. One team
member is assigned to be the reader and another is assigned to
write down comments while all members are encouraged to
interrupt with comments. They have a list of questions to answer
about the paper to guide them in what to look for (Figure 4).
Given the choice, students prefer to read the papers individually
because they can do this quickly and with minimal thought.
Therefore you need to circulate around the room and force
them to all listen to one paper at a time. When forced to do this
as a team, they learn from each other. Strong team members will
point out weaknesses in the paper that the others had not
realized were a weakness. Sometimes team members will argue
over whether or not a section of the paper should be criticized.
It is during these discussions that the most learning occurs.
I have my students do peer grading of both oral and written
presentations. Oral presentations can be team evaluated within
5 min (Figure 5). A team can do three, 3-page written papers in
a 48-min class period. At the end of the class, the papers and
comment sheets are returned to the writer to revise and turn in
for a grade. While the writer receives useful comments, students
tell me that they learn the most from having read and discussed
the work of the other students.
Technique number 5: in-class grading lecture
Another time saver is to read the assignments, but instead of
writing out all of the comments on each of the papers, compile
Available on-line through ift.org
them into a grading lecture. In other words, all of the students
simultaneously receive the same feedback. This saves time, but
more importantly it is a great instructional tool for difficult and
complicated assignments. The instructor determines which flaws
appear multiple times, such as failing to include references, or
giving vague solutions (such as, add a gum, instead of naming
the exact type of gum) then explains the common flaws.
Sometimes, I have realized that a number of students have
misinterpreted the assignment, or misunderstood a section of
the reading. These common mistakes can then be pointed out
before the final draft is written. This kind of immediate feedback
on misconceptions was rated by 87% of biology students as
very useful to learning (Marrs and Chism 2005).
This technique works best when a number of factors are
present. First, this technique is best when the assignment is
difficult and many students are likely to be confused. I use it for
an assignment where the students must solve a real-life
industrial problem with no known solution. The grading lecture
allows me to see where students are confused and compose the
lecture to address those points. This is also referred to as
formative assessment. It is important to provide feedback during
learning exercises so that the students can revise their thinking
(Mestre and Cocking 2002). Second, the grading lecture needs
to occur early. This allows enough time that the student can
change direction if they had some critical flaws in their
approach, and it encourages them to get their 1st draft started
because they have to meet this early deadline. Finally, the
assignment should be one where many students are making the
same mistakes, so that it is valuable to address all of the students
at once. If only one student made a particular mistake, there is
no value in pointing it out to the entire class. After the grading
Figure 4Guide
to students for
peer evaluation
of papers.
Vol. 7, 2008Journal of Food Science Education 51
JFSE: Journal of Food Science Education
lecture, the students have some individual work time and it is comments on the rubric. There are several other benefits to the
then when I invite students to come up and discuss specific grading rubric as well. First, students have a clear idea of what
issues I found in their specific paper. is expected of them. When I changed from telling the students it
I have found that this technique raises the final grades was important to include many references to handing out my
because, while the students are only halfway done with the rubric stating Contains at least 6 references I saw a dramatic
assignment, they have already received criticism of their increase in the number of students meeting the minimum. A
weakest ideas. This technique has the greatest impact on clear rubric is very helpful for students who are not sure exactly
students who are confused or off course. I consider this painless what is required. Saam and others (2007) reported that half of
grading because I focus on the major points without attempting their students chose the rubric as the most effective course
to catch every flaw. I can be very critical because the students element for helping them complete assignments successfully
are not receiving any grade at this point and the comments are and over half rated the rubric to be very effective in helping
not directed at any particular student. them understand professor expectations.
Second, the reason for the final grade is obvious to both the
student and me. When I finish reading the paper and look at my
Technique number 6: grading rubric grading rubric it is immediately obvious whether the majority of
Using a grading rubric is another time saver that can improve my comments fell into the A, B, C, or D range. I only have to
learning (Figure 6). A rubric states what aspects of the decide exactly where in that range the grade falls, and very
assignment fall into the A, B, C, D, or E categories. For instance, seldom do students come to me to ask why they received the
in the A category, specific scientific principles are explained grade they did. Finally, but not least important, the rubric forces
while in the B category general statements are made about the me to make positive as well as negative comments. Before I
science, the C category does not state the science involved, and used it I tended to write only criticisms. With the rubric I need
the D category makes scientifically incorrect statements. Over to circle comments in every area and therefore many times I am
the years, I have revised my grading rubric to include all of the circling positive comments. The rubric saves time in giving
comments I commonly make on that assignment. Now, instead feedback while making it very clear what the student will be
of having to hand write each comment, I circle the relevant graded on. Andrade (2000) also reported that students who

Figure 5Sample guide to

students for peer evaluation
of presentations.

52 Journal of Food Science EducationVol. 7, 2008 Available on-line through ift.org

Guide to grading . . .
Figure 6Sample paper rubric.
were given rubrics received higher grades on later tests than
those that were not.
Conclusions
While being an excellent teacher will always be time
consuming, there are some techniques that are excellent
teaching tools without taking a lot of time. A few assignments
can be ungraded or, more accurately, graded pass or repeat.
Students can grade their own homework or exams using online
or IF AT score sheets. Team learning can be a great way to
increase learning while decreasing your workload because
giving a team grade encourages peer teaching while requiring
fewer total grades be assigned. Teams can grade each others
work, saving time and allowing them to learn from each other.
Verbally responding to papers in an organized grading lecture
can correct misconceptions held by many students. Finally, a
grading rubric is a valuable way to decrease the time it takes to
give feedback while making expectations very clear to the
student.
I would like to make one final point on grading as a learning
tool. The fairest grading system involves individual grades on
yes or no questions. The greatest learning, however, often occurs
in team situations working on nebulous questions. In the end, if
Available on-line through ift.org
you have to choose between learning and fair grading, go with
learning. That is what the classroom is supposed to be about.
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Vol. 7, 2008Journal of Food Science Education 53