Grading and Assessment

The English 100 curriculum and its values rest on a philosophy of inclusivity, an appreciation for the Wisconsin Experience, and scholarship in composition and rhetoric. Processes of assessment and evaluation are complex and connected both to the program goals and to your particular class. Each instructor manages grading in their own classroom, but all assessment and evaluation in English 100 must reflect our program commitments. This section of the Instructors’ Guide is meant to support this work, but you are always welcome to discuss your ideas and experiences related to grading with a member of the admin team.

In English 100, we place a strong emphasis on providing written and oral feedback to students directly about their writing and their development as a writer. Some teachers find it useful to use a rubric for this feedback. With that in mind, we give you some sample rubrics to guide assessment and evaluation. The rubric is a tool to help frame your feedback choices and grading decisions. It should not be read as a checklist. We also provide a template for a rubric you can build yourself.

Contract Grading is another approach to assessment that some English 100 instructors choose. For those interested in exploring this choice, we provide brief information in the Contract Grading in English 100 chapter. It’s intended to help you understand what’s acceptable and useful in working with contract grading for English 100. We also provide additional resources in BOX to help you consider how contract grading can fit with your teaching philosophy and how to manage practical matters.

Because the English 100 curriculum emphasizes writing as a process, our program philosophy on grading recognizes and assesses multiple dimensions of work related to the course. This includes:

• varied forms of participation, including contributions to workshops, collaboration, discussions, and other informal or formal activities;
• written work in the course (short and long assignments, including drafts);
• attendance;
• other activities or work that you believe are appropriate to assess and include as part of the final course grade.

It’s important to be mindful that students will vary in their learning experiences. Be sure to consider how you assess student work so that you will not unfairly disadvantage a student for reasons related to personality, learning style, cultural background, disability, etc. Consider what you are asking students to do before assuming that all students will be able to complete a task in a way that helps their learning. Be open to modifying an assignment or activity if a student expresses some concern over their ability to complete it. And be willing to learn from your students about the skills and expectations they bring to your classroom.

Because we recognize writing as a process, the program requires portfolio grading to capture the various dimensions of effective writing, to allow students to demonstrate growth in their work, and to encourage them to practice drafting and revision.

You can use the rubrics in this Guide to help you align with course principles, or you can devise other methods. Feel free to share the rubric with your students or adapt it as long as you remain consistent with its values. Although it provides you with a general sense of a grade range for the work you will assess, it is not meant to be a norming tool. Instead, it assists in transparency and communication. Students can see what and how specific elements of their work are being assessed, and instructors can be clear in explaining what works or doesn’t work and in offering advice for revision.