Want to grade artwork faster but still provide meaningful feedback?
Even if you are a Middle or High School Art teacher and you love your job, I’d be willing to be that you don’t enjoy grading artwork. Today I’m bringing you a few tips and tricks I’ve learned over the last 15+ years to help you grade artwork faster and make the process a little more bearable:
1. Use a rubric (For SOME things):
Obviously we know rubrics help us be more consistent and they give students a clear idea of what it means to complete a successful artwork, but they can take a lot of time. Use a simple, standard rubric and circle the feedback rather than writing comments on each one.
2. Grade by walking around the classroom:
This one is a lifesaver! Grab a clipboard with a roster. Walk around the room and grade the artwork while students are in the room. I always check sketchbook assignments this way, so students can flip the pages while I checkmark them. This is a great method to help grade artwork faster. I will NEVER take up sketchbooks again!
3. Encourage self-evaluation:
Encourage students to assess their own work before you start grading it. Perhaps after they become familiar with your rubric, they can grade themselves. I’ve found they are typically harder on themselves than I am!
Here is a Resource I created for Student Self-Reflection for sale at TPT.
4. Don’t grade EVERY piece of artwork:
Sometimes its just not necessary to grade every art piece. I wouldn’t do this at the beginning of a new year or semester though. You can also choose certain projects where you grade the PROCESS. Instead of grading the quality of the finished artwork, you’ll be assigning a grade to the creative processes that went into making it. You can access how many sketches the student made, the amount of effort, and/or the inquiry process the student used for idea generation.
Here is a link to a blog post I made about Grading the Artistic Process. I even have a FREE rubric for you to download there!
5. Grade Pass/Fail:
You can also assess certain artworks with a pass/fail method of grading. Give a certain amount of points for passing work and a much lower score for a failing work. Be sure to share with students what they need to do to reach a passing score.
It’s no secret that grading artwork can be a bit of a chore for teachers, but hopefully these tips can help you get it all done and grade artwork faster. Let me know in the comments if you have any additional tips or tricks!
