Making grading more
meaningful without a lot of extra work:
How to create grade summaries using Mail Merge
A grade summary, at the most basic level, lists a student's grades for individual assignments throughout the term (exams, papers, problem sets, etc.) in addition to the student's overall (final) grade in the course. It is also a convenient way to distribute other information to students, such as how the grade was calculated, the answers to frequently-missed exam questions, and so on.
There are many benefits to both student and instructor for using grade summaries:
- At the end of the term, it helps students understand how their grade was calculated and dispells their suspicion that grades are assigned capriciously or arbitrarily.
- During the term, the student can see how he or she is doing "so far" and why.
- It reinforces the idea that the overall grade reflects the
student's work over the entire term.
- It forces the instructor to base the final grade on an objective
formula (even if the individual components may be evaluated
subjectively).
And occasionally:
- It helps the instructor and students catch clerical errors.
- It preempts challenges from students who feel they deserve a
higher grade but cannot justify a grade change.
Simplified hypothetical example of a grade
summary
If you keep track of students' grades in a spreadsheet like Excel, it is possible to quickly, easily, and almost automatically create detailed summaries of each student's performance in a course. Follow one of the links below for a tutorial.
How
to create grade summaries in Word 2000
How
to create grade summaries in Word 2002
David Radwin