This page describes how to make and use a grading guide when grading an assignment in GauchoSpace. An overview of grading guides (and the closely related rubric) is available here. This article will use the following example grading guide and translate it into GauchoSpace.

How do I make a grading guide?

A grading guide exists as an option for grading within an assignment. First, create an assignment activity on your course site. When you are creating the assignment (or after the fact: grading methods can be changed so long as no grades have already been given),  choose "Grading Guide" from the Grading method option in the Grade menu of an assignment.

After you have saved this preference, you will be shown a screen to select your grading guide. Build a new grading guide by choosing "Define new grading form from scratch." Once you have existing grading guides, you can save them as templates to start from for future assignments.

Follow these steps to create a grading guide:

1) Give the grading guide a name and a description. This information will help instructors keep track of grading guide to be reused in the future. This description can be shared with students, but does not need to be.

 

2) Now, set the criterion descriptions for each area. The first blank criterion is provided. Click within a box to edit the description and maximum score. Use the "Add criterion" button to add another area to be assessed. The maximum scores for each area should add up to the desired total for the entire assignment.

 

 

3) After all criteria and point levels have been described, scroll to the bottom of the page. Here there are several options controlling how the grading guide will behave and what will be shown to students. It is also possible to add commonly used feedback to streamline the grading later. Adjust these options as necessary, and then click "Save grading guide and make it ready" to begin using it. If you are not able to finish the rubric in one sitting, you can save it as a draft and come back later.

The grading guide has now been saved and is available for use.

How do I use a grading guide that I have created?

After creating a grading guide (see above), you can use that grading guide to assess students.

1) Enter the assignment that has a grading guide attached to it. Click the "Grade" button.

 

2) You'll be shown your grading guide in the grading view. Enter a score (and feedback if desired) within each criterion that aligns with the student's performance. By switching to the side-by-side pane, you can view a student's PDF submission at the same time as the grading guide.

3) Save your changes. You can always reset the grading guide if you need to start over. Continue for other submissions in the class.

 

Note on how scores are calculated with the grading guide: There are two ways to use the grading guide when considering the summative total that is entered into the gradebook. First, the total maximum score for the assignment can be entered as the highest possible score from all criteria in the grading guide. Then, GauchoSpace will display the summed total of the rubric. As another option, the maximum score for the assignment could be different from the possible points on the rubric (such as 100 where the grading guide only denotes 20 points). In this case, GauchoSpace will scale the score to match (so if the student earned 15 points out of 20 on the rubric, but the assignment is worth a maximum of 100, GauchoSpace will scale it up x5 and input a score of 75). 

 

Save A Grading Guide for Use in Another Assignment

After a grading guide has been created, it can also be saved as a template that is available for other assignments on the course site. This is useful in courses where several assignments might use the same grading guide throughout the quarter, such as a weekly reading response or lab reports. Use these steps:

1) Enter the assignment that has the rubric already assigned to it. In the Administration block for the assignment, click "Advanced Grading". You will be taken to a new screen.

2) You will see an overview of the grading guide. Use the button labeled "Publish the form as a new template." Confirm on the next screen. The grading guide will now be an option in other assignments.

 

Now, in other assignments this grading guide will be available. After you have set the grading option to be "Grading Guide", you can use the "Create new grading form from a template" to select a saved rubric. You can simply use it exactly as is, or make adjustments as needed to fit the new assignment.