Am I too nice?

[robot_hamster]

While grading some papers, I discovered that the rubric the professor provided is quite subjective. I tend to lean toward giving a higher grade on things, but I was given strict instructions to be very harsh with the grading. I was thinking about it and I have come to the conclusion that the students are going to hate me. I almost feel like secretly telling everyone that their grade wouldn't be the grade I would have normally give them. Haha! Maybe I am just too nice. Do others find this typical?

[eklavya]

Yeah, in some cases. But mostly, I tend to be fair and give them the grades they deserve (based on their work), even if that means I have to break the rubric laws a little bit. Maybe because I am not a believer of the curving system, I try to give 'just' grades. Sometimes, grading also depends on the class size. For example, if it is a small sized class where I can talk to every student and know them personally/by their names, I also take into consideration how well they know the material vs how poor they've done in the assignments. Although this does not always go well with professors, the kids do appreciate me for taking my stand

[robot_hamster]

Well I think I'm giving them the grade they deserve! But the professor doesn't seem to agree. See what I mean about things being very subjective?

[Phyl]

I have zero TA experience so forgive me if this sounds silly, but can you ask the professor why the rubric is the way it is? S/He has to have some reasoning behind the way s/he wants things graded. Harsh isn't necessarily the same thing as subjective.

[wtncffts]

Well, if you were given instructions to that effect, you should carry them out. As a TA, you're essentially just an agent for a principal (i.e., the professor). It's their course, and they are ultimately responsible for the grades given.

If you're worried about appearing 'mean' to your students, then I have to say that maybe the answer is 'yes' to your original question. You're there to help the professor teach the course and evaluate student performance, not be their friends. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't be friendly on a personal level, and there's nothing wrong with doing things to make the class atmosphere more pleasant for yourself and for students, but remember, you're doing a job.

[robot_hamster]

I have zero TA experience so forgive me if this sounds silly, but can you ask the professor why the rubric is the way it is? S/He has to have some reasoning behind the way s/he wants things graded. Harsh isn't necessarily the same thing as subjective.

The rubric is subjective in the sense that the highest score for one aspect, for example, is described as "effectively" communicating x,y,z. Different people could interpret it differently depending on their own personal experiences. For me, I can't help but look at it from a student's perspective. So when I read the paper, I'm thinking yeah they were pretty effective in doing this. The professor, on the other hand, disagrees.

[robot_hamster]

Well, if you were given instructions to that effect, you should carry them out. As a TA, you're essentially just an agent for a principal (i.e., the professor). It's their course, and they are ultimately responsible for the grades given.

If you're worried about appearing 'mean' to your students, then I have to say that maybe the answer is 'yes' to your original question. You're there to help the professor teach the course and evaluate student performance, not be their friends. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't be friendly on a personal level, and there's nothing wrong with doing things to make the class atmosphere more pleasant for yourself and for students, but remember, you're doing a job.

I guess it's not so much that I think they will think I am being mean. It's more like they are going to think I'm not communicating very well exactly what needs to be in the paper. They were asking me tons of questions about if the paper was supposed to contain this or that. I don't know EXACTLY what the professor wants 100% of the time, but I don't think it is appropriate to spell everything out for them word for word anyway. I did try giving hints here and there when it looked like someone was struggling. But then I feel like maybe it is my fault they didn't do better because I wasn't steering them in the right direction. Maybe I'm just completely over-analyzing this!

Edited February 8, 2011 by robot_hamster

[wtncffts]

I guess it's not so much that I think they will think I am being mean. It's more like they are going to think I'm not communicating very well exactly what needs to be in the paper. They were asking me tons of questions about if the paper was supposed to contain this or that. I don't know EXACTLY what the professor wants 100% of the time, but I don't think it is appropriate to spell everything out for them word for word anyway. I did try giving hints here and there when it looked like someone was struggling. But then I feel like maybe it is my fault they didn't do better because I wasn't steering them in the right direction. Maybe I'm just completely over-analyzing this!

I see. Well, if it's the case that you're not really sure what the professor expects, you should communicate that to him/her, and hopefully you'll get feedback. Since you're talking about papers, I'm guessing you're in humanities/social sciences, in which case, grading will always be subjective, to a certain extent. In my experience, you can pretty easily identify outstanding and awful papers, but most will fall in between, and there's, frankly, only small differences between, say, a B- and a B, or a B and a B+, etc. Hell, we've all read peer-reviewed papers which we think are utter crap. I repeatedly emphasized to my students when they asked about grades this point about subjectivity, and I honestly found it difficult, occasionally, to pinpoint exactly what was wrong with a particular paper. It's not like we can just point to wrong answers or a checklist of correct steps or something. You read something, you get an impression, you mentally compare it to others, and you do your best.

[rising_star]

While grading some papers, I discovered that the rubric the professor provided is quite subjective. I tend to lean toward giving a higher grade on things, but I was given strict instructions to be very harsh with the grading. I was thinking about it and I have come to the conclusion that the students are going to hate me. I almost feel like secretly telling everyone that their grade wouldn't be the grade I would have normally give them. Haha! Maybe I am just too nice. Do others find this typical?

No. It may be because you're new to being a TA. It's not your job to decide how the papers should be graded, it's your job to grade them how the professor in charge of the course told you too. In general, I tend to grade writing on par with my peers.

The rubric is subjective in the sense that the highest score for one aspect, for example, is described as "effectively" communicating x,y,z. Different people could interpret it differently depending on their own personal experiences. For me, I can't help but look at it from a student's perspective. So when I read the paper, I'm thinking yeah they were pretty effective in doing this. The professor, on the other hand, disagrees.

You shouldn't be grading from a student's perspective. You aren't a student for the purposes of this, you are a graduate student. Go with what the professor says, seriously.

What's best, when it's your first time grading is to read 2-4 papers side-by-side with the professor and see what s/he comments on, how s/he uses the rubric, and the grade s/he assigns to those papers. Then, use that to guide you in your own grading.

[neuropsych76]

I haven't had much grading experience, but I've done a decent amount of peer review and I've graded essays for applications for honors societies. I know I will have to work on this skill and I hope I develop it in graduate school. Sometimes I will be highly critical and other times I feel I'm being too nice.

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

The rubric is subjective in the sense that the highest score for one aspect, for example, is described as "effectively" communicating x,y,z. Different people could interpret it differently depending on their own personal experiences. For me, I can't help but look at it from a student's perspective. So when I read the paper, I'm thinking yeah they were pretty effective in doing this. The professor, on the other hand, disagrees.

I would think "effectively" means succinctly synthesizing most/all relevant information to answer the question at hand. Otherwise, your grading sounds like "For a poor student, they explained it as well as they could - A." That is subjective grading, and that's why your professor disagrees.

[robot_hamster]

You shouldn't be grading from a student's perspective. You aren't a student for the purposes of this, you are a graduate student. Go with what the professor says, seriously.

What's best, when it's your first time grading is to read 2-4 papers side-by-side with the professor and see what s/he comments on, how s/he uses the rubric, and the grade s/he assigns to those papers. Then, use that to guide you in your own grading.

It's difficult not to when I am there with all the students and I know that they are confused. Heck, I'm confused! I did sit down with the professor to go over some of the papers. This is how I know we are not interpreting things the same way. The score I would have given was always higher than what they would have given.

[robot_hamster]

I would think "effectively" means succinctly synthesizing most/all relevant information to answer the question at hand. Otherwise, your grading sounds like "For a poor student, they explained it as well as they could - A." That is subjective grading, and that's why your professor disagrees.

That's not exactly what I was thinking.

[rsldonk]

Who cares if your students like you or not. That should have little bearing on how you do your job. My students hate that i don't accept late work. Do I really care? No. I put it in the syllabus, they were warned. Your job is to do what the professor wants, that's why it's called being the teaching assistant, not the student assistant.

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

That's not exactly what I was thinking.

Sorry, I misinterpreted. Since you did go over this with the professor, I suppose I don't know how to suggest approaching it. What sort of feedback did they give?

Edited February 8, 2011 by ScreamingHairyArmadillo

[E.C.D.]

Do whatever the prof tells you to do - who cares if the undergrads don't like you? They are only being nice in hopes that you'll fluff their grade - they know you are young/new and are trying to take advantage of you. The prof is your BOSS. Do what he/she says.

[robot_hamster]

Who cares if your students like you or not. That should have little bearing on how you do your job. My students hate that i don't accept late work. Do I really care? No. I put it in the syllabus, they were warned. Your job is to do what the professor wants, that's why it's called being the teaching assistant, not the student assistant.

I'm afraid they are going to give me horrible reviews. I've read all these horror stories about evaluations. I can see it now.

"Did a horrible job explaining what we needed to do and then gave us terrible grades on our papers."

[robot_hamster]

Sorry, I misinterpreted. Since you did go over this with the professor, I suppose I don't know how to suggest approaching it. What sort of feedback did they give?

Feedback on my grading you mean? There wasn't much feedback. I was just told to use the grades they would have given on these papers as a baseline for the rest. Maybe I just need to grade it like I was before and then shift all the scores down. Haha!

[wtncffts]

Again, I would try to communicate with your professor your difficulties. I mean, it seems like you yourself don't really understand what the professor expects, and thus are having trouble passing that on to your students. If you do understand, then just give your students the line: this is what I (or the course) expects from you, and this is how you will be graded.

I reiterate my point earlier, though, that grading is fundamentally subjective to some extent, especially in humanities/social sciences. Exams are usually easier, because you're testing recall and comprehension of the course material. But a research paper may go off on all sorts of unanticipated directions, especially if they're not given very specific topics. Someone above said "succinctly synthesizing most/all relevant information to answer the question at hand". Well, what are the standards for succinctness? Or synthesizing? What is most/all relevant information? There's always more that could have been said. What's the balance between succinctness and information? If one paper is a little more succinct (however you measure it) than another, but the other provides a slightly fuller picture, which is better? As I said, these are all judgment calls within a certain range. A papers and F papers are obvious. Sometimes the difference between a B and B- is not.

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

Again, I would try to communicate with your professor your difficulties. I mean, it seems like you yourself don't really understand what the professor expects, and thus are having trouble passing that on to your students. If you do understand, then just give your students the line: this is what I (or the course) expects from you, and this is how you will be graded.

I reiterate my point earlier, though, that grading is fundamentally subjective to some extent, especially in humanities/social sciences. Exams are usually easier, because you're testing recall and comprehension of the course material. But a research paper may go off on all sorts of unanticipated directions, especially if they're not given very specific topics. Someone above said "succinctly synthesizing most/all relevant information to answer the question at hand". Well, what are the standards for succinctness? Or synthesizing? What is most/all relevant information? There's always more that could have been said. What's the balance between succinctness and information? If one paper is a little more succinct (however you measure it) than another, but the other provides a slightly fuller picture, which is better? As I said, these are all judgment calls within a certain range. A papers and F papers are obvious. Sometimes the difference between a B and B- is not.

I don't know what sort of assignment the OP is grading (test, essay, lab report?) and all would have different rubrics and expectations. And yes, I suppose "succinctness" is subjective, but the lack of it can sometimes be very obvious when the information is tangential.

As far as where a research paper may go, while it may be unanticipated to the reader, the writer should have a thesis and keep their writing relevant to their point. If the professor doesn't absolutely specify the topic, the writer needs to define it for themselves. And I said "all/most" because while one omission of one fact may not break an argument, the complete ignorance of a topic that was described in class would be a clear fault.

I also would not be comparing one paper to another to determine a grade, hence the use of rubrics. While some profs curve course grades, the initial score on an assignment is determined per individual.

[wtncffts]

I don't know what sort of assignment the OP is grading (test, essay, lab report?) and all would have different rubrics and expectations. And yes, I suppose "succinctness" is subjective, but the lack of it can sometimes be very obvious when the information is tangential.

As far as where a research paper may go, while it may be unanticipated to the reader, the writer should have a thesis and keep their writing relevant to their point. If the professor doesn't absolutely specify the topic, the writer needs to define it for themselves. And I said "all/most" because while one omission of one fact may not break an argument, the complete ignorance of a topic that was described in class would be a clear fault.

I also would not be comparing one paper to another to determine a grade, hence the use of rubrics. While some profs curve course grades, the initial score on an assignment is determined per individual.

Again, that's assuming the use of a rubric is objective simply because it 'formalizes' the grading criteria; it's not. One course I TA'ed, the prof mandated the use of a specific set of criteria, things like analytical rigour, originality, sentence mechanics, etc. We actually had to give grades for each criteria, and then an overall grade. The first time we had papers, all the TAs and the prof got together and marked a few just to get a sense of everyone's standards. There was indeed divergence on many of these criteria among us. As I have said, a paper with 'excellent' analytical rigour is obvious, as is a poor paper. But the small differences can be hard to parse.

In terms of curving, every time I've TAed the prof has set out an expected average, though not set in stone. I say comparing to one another because you may have, say, two papers worth a 'B', but at least in one case, I had to give percentages. And so when you compared them, you might find that one is slightly better than another and give a higher percentage.

[rsldonk]

I'm afraid they are going to give me horrible reviews. I've read all these horror stories about evaluations. I can see it now.

"Did a horrible job explaining what we needed to do and then gave us terrible grades on our papers."

Do the evaluations have any weight when it comes to future funding and if so how much? And will that outweigh the recommendation of the professor you are grading for? Are you individually evaluated by the students, or is the professor the one who gets the evaluation? Who do you really answer to? I guess that depends on your department, but if you are a grading assistant, not actually teaching the class, evaluations go for the professor, and not you, but the professor evaluates your work. So that answers who you need to please. Also, expect bad evaluations from students you don't just hand an easy A.

[robot_hamster]

Again, I would try to communicate with your professor your difficulties. I mean, it seems like you yourself don't really understand what the professor expects, and thus are having trouble passing that on to your students. If you do understand, then just give your students the line: this is what I (or the course) expects from you, and this is how you will be graded.

I reiterate my point earlier, though, that grading is fundamentally subjective to some extent, especially in humanities/social sciences. Exams are usually easier, because you're testing recall and comprehension of the course material. But a research paper may go off on all sorts of unanticipated directions, especially if they're not given very specific topics. Someone above said "succinctly synthesizing most/all relevant information to answer the question at hand". Well, what are the standards for succinctness? Or synthesizing? What is most/all relevant information? There's always more that could have been said. What's the balance between succinctness and information? If one paper is a little more succinct (however you measure it) than another, but the other provides a slightly fuller picture, which is better? As I said, these are all judgment calls within a certain range. A papers and F papers are obvious. Sometimes the difference between a B and B- is not.

Maybe that is my problem. I have absolutely no clue what is going on. Then again, it doesn't seem like the professor knows either. There has been a lot of making stuff up as we go along going on. I agree with the second half of what you wrote. It is the little differences that are difficult and things can be interpreted differently by different people.

[robot_hamster]

Do the evaluations have any weight when it comes to future funding and if so how much? And will that outweigh the recommendation of the professor you are grading for? Are you individually evaluated by the students, or is the professor the one who gets the evaluation? Who do you really answer to? I guess that depends on your department, but if you are a grading assistant, not actually teaching the class, evaluations go for the professor, and not you, but the professor evaluates your work. So that answers who you need to please. Also, expect bad evaluations from students you don't just hand an easy A.

To tell you the truth, I have no clue. There are no guarantees that I will be able to get more TA positions further on down the line. It is basically just being in the right place at the right time. I am not teaching the class (meaning I'm not giving lectures), but I am there explaining stuff to people. No one has come right out and said I would be evaluated by the students. But I have filled out evaluations for TAs in the past. My guess is that if I'm going to be evaluated, it will get sprung on me at the end of the semester. I do want to do a good job for the professor though because it may mean they will recommend me to someone else for possible TA positions.

[wtncffts]

To tell you the truth, I have no clue. There are no guarantees that I will be able to get more TA positions further on down the line. It is basically just being in the right place at the right time. I am not teaching the class (meaning I'm not giving lectures), but I am there explaining stuff to people. No one has come right out and said I would be evaluated by the students. But I have filled out evaluations for TAs in the past. My guess is that if I'm going to be evaluated, it will get sprung on me at the end of the semester. I do want to do a good job for the professor though because it may mean they will recommend me to someone else for possible TA positions.

Well, I don't know your department or school, but it seems to me they need to get their act together in terms of providing explicit and available information and guidelines to TAs. Where I TAed, there was a faculty member who was an 'associate graduate director' in overall charge of the TA procedures. Perhaps there's someone there with that responsibility, or otherwise someone who would know all this stuff (the graduate program director, admin officer, etc.).