Grade Smarter, Not Harder
There are many reasons why you became a teacher, but I'd guess that "grading stacks of papers" was not high among them. I'd also guess that, with all the other work a Modern Classroom entails -- recording videos, updating a progress tracker, maintaining your LMS, etc. -- reviewing an endless stream of assignments and mastery checks is not appealing.
It's hard for us to say what the "right" grading policy is: every school and district has its own policies, and every educator has a different philosophy when it comes to grades. Follow your school's guidance -- and your own conscience -- before you listen to me! But, as you consider what exactly you'll grade next year, within those prescribed guidelines, here are a few principles that I always tried to keep in mind:
★ Grades should be a snapshot of understanding. I never saw a student's grade as a complete record of that student's knowledge or ability. Rather, the grade was a quick indicator of the level of understanding that student has shown to date. For that reason, I didn't feel the need to grade every assignment. I graded all mastery checks -- which demonstrate understanding -- and treated other classwork as practice for those mastery checks. This helped both me and my students prioritize, and ensured that students' grades truly reflected their understanding.
★ Grades should be temporary. Understanding develops over time, and grades should as well. I let students retake mastery checks whenever they wanted, and gave full credit once they really got it. This at times created extra work for me -- some students needed to reassess a few times -- but kept the focus on understanding, and felt more equitable for students who often missed class. And believe me, my students didn't relish those retakes any more than I did! Over time, they learned to prepare (using ungraded practice) to succeed the first or second time around.
★ Grades are only one way to motivate students. Don't get me wrong -- I relied heavily on grades as a motivator for my students. But I also tried to emphasize other reasons for working hard and getting ahead: interesting aspire-to-do assignments, the ability to help classmates, and the pride that comes from learning. I also found that emails home, which emphasized students' positive attitudes and characteristics (in addition to grades) went a long way.
Will my own grading practices work for you? Maybe, or may not! But I hope these ideas will help you decide how you can grade efficiently and effectively in your own Modern Classroom.