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ArtHay · Joined: 17 Apr 2011 Posts: 14

I have a writing class of 137 students who just finished their final exam which consisted of two essays per student along with 3 short answers and 20 vocabulary questions.

This will obviously take me quite a bit of time to grade, but what is really annoying me is that I have been told several times that if I fail any students I will basically be punished by having to write and grade another exam for the students who failed during the next semester.

Since I am fairly new to China (although I taught in Korea for a few years) I am wondering is this typical of what you can expect?

I work in a college in a second level city.

Guerciotti · Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 10:15 am Post subject:

In my limited experience; yes this is what you can expect. Par for the course.

The retest is not intended to punish the teacher, but to retain the student. At my university, or college or whatever it is, failure is uncommon. By failure, I mean the "drop out and regroup because you failed two classes" failure. The "reduced to pursuing a lesser degree" failure is most uncommon. Even if a student fails the retest, they simply take remedial classes in addition to their regular classes the next term.

Looks like an ocean of essays ahead of you, my friend. I don't know if you've done this sort of thing before. My advice is to do them in blocks of various sizes with frequent breaks and you'll be fine. Or whatever works for you.

My essay grading odyssey begins in a few weeks.

wangdaning · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 3154

Miles Smiles · Joined: 07 Jun 2010 Posts: 1294 Location: Heebee Jeebee

ArtHay · Joined: 17 Apr 2011 Posts: 14

That was the rule at my university in Canada as well, if you failed the course you had to retake it.

You could request a re-read if you believed that the grade was unfair but it usually wouldn't make a lot of difference in the final grade you were given.

These students I'm talking about are also seniors so I don't think there is much of an issue with the school wanting to retain them either since they will be finished in a couple of months anyway.

Opiate · Joined: 10 Aug 2011 Posts: 630 Location: Qingdao

I have nothing to add really..just glad I don't teach any writing classes. That sounds like actual work. I don't envy you guys.

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

DosEquisX · Joined: 09 Dec 2010 Posts: 361

I recommend you hire somebody to help you grade papers. I hired one of my former students for really low pay to help me grade essays. I mean, it was more than any summer job would pay out, but cheap enough that it didn't break the bank for me. She basically corrected grammar and then handed me the paper to grade. Saved a whole lot of time and frustration.

I recommend for any notes or handouts that you get the class monitor's e-mail and send any of them through him/her who will then send them to everybody else in your class. It saves paper and makes your class more efficient.

jaydizzle · Joined: 25 Nov 2011 Posts: 57

Grading writing exams is simplicity itself. If you've got 135 students, about 130 of them will have copied it from the internet. Just google a sentence or two and fail them quickly. You will only have to read maybe 5 complete essays.

Unless, of course, you're having them write them in class, under your supervision...

Old Surrender · Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 3:25 pm Post subject:

ClaudeRains · Joined: 30 Jun 2003 Posts: 54

No, no, no! Here's how to do it in 30 minutes or less: Quickly scan the papers for the obvious failures and the few that are clearly superior. The latter get an A without any further reading. The former get a C, but only if the students invite you out to eat, do your laundry, sleep with you--something like that. The remainder? You throw them up in the air and the ones that fall face down get a C, those face-up a B. Studies have shown this will closely parallel the outcome you would have gotten if you had read them all carefully--except you'd be a month older, hungry, horny, and still with dirty laundry.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

OP that fair bit of time you expect to devote to marking that written work should be factored into any calculation you do on how much you are paid per hour.
Another poster has expressed preference for writing over oral English as a subject for an FT. A CT can teach written English. FTs add more value in the oral classroom.

Guerciotti · Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 9:40 am Post subject:

The Great Wall of Whiner · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 4946 Location: Blabbing

ClaudeRains, we are foreign lecturers not Chinese professors. Wink