Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Evaluating a student's essay My students must go through the six steps of the writing process (I guide them along the way) and I use a rubric to evaluate their work. Many teachers at my school evaluate their students' rough draft, as opposed to the final copy. When evaluating written work, are we providing a grade to the student's rough draft or final/clean copy? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) I believe that students should be graded at both the rough draft and final draft. Just because we grade the rough draft does not mean we need to record the grade. When I taught writers workshop, I graded the rough draft, then sat down and had a student/teacher conference with the students and we would go over the paper and the rubric and talk about what was good about the paper and what needed improvement. This would give the students the feedback they needed to write a successful paper for their final draft. I had success with this conference, it gave the students the confidence and feedback they needed to write. It also allowed them to understand the process of writing because I talked to them and allowed them to ask questions. Grading the rough draft also gives the teacher pre-assessment data to form mini lessons around editing or the writing process, whichever part the students maybe struggling with.                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: Well said! If we are grading on the mastery of standards, why wouldn't our recorded grade be on the final copy. The piece is a work in progress-hence rough draft. I agree that grading it is appropriate, but if the grade must be recorded, perhaps a completion or participation grade is more fair. Rarely is a rough draft as good as a final copy. Posting the rough draft grade that is weighted as severely as a final draft will discourage students who are truly struggling writers. Rated On: October 11, 2015 12:38 pm Rated By: deRudu