Rethinking Assessment Strategies and Procedures
By Julie Johnson, Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Computer Science
With major changes planned for the fall semester, many of us have had to rethink our assessment strategies. One aspect you may have overlooked is the handling of graded student assignments. A simple homework can generate a chain of contact among professors, graders and students. One way to reduce the complexity of what used to be a simple task is to use an online tool like Gradescope. This free tool facilitates student turn-in by accepting scans of handwritten or typed work. Once a student uploads their work, it can easily be accessed by instructors and multiple graders who can grade the work, mark it up, develop rubrics on the fly, re-evaluate your grading scheme and easily collaborate on all-things-grading without ever having to launch Zoom or handle papers. When grading is finished, you “hand back” student work by releasing graded assignments with the click of a button. Gradescope also helps you handle the inevitable regrade request by facilitating student requests, generating notification emails to you and the relevant grader and automatically opening and closing the regrade request time window. This can cut down on the number of office visits or Zoom appointments you might need to set up. Assignments can be template-based (worksheet style) or open-response (X questions—student’s use as many pages as they need), typed or handwritten, include figures or photos.
You can learn more about Gradescope by visiting their website. Or contact Julie Johnson in the EECS department. Julie and 7 of her colleagues have been using this tool for four years and would be happy to show you around.
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