Promising Practices

Often Teaching Assistants and Assistant Instructor are bombarded by students after they hand back a graded exam or paper. Students often line up immediately after class, ready to debate the merits of what they perceive to be a “mis-graded” test answer or paper. One helpful suggestion is to tell students—before you hand back any graded material—that you are available to discuss grades ONLY after the students have thoroughly re-examined their work. Insist that any points of debate must be put in writing and brought to your office hours, at which point you will be happy to discuss the situation. This policy keeps students from the knee-jerk reaction of asking for a higher grade. And it allows those students who feel seriously that a mistake has been made, the opportunity to express their opinion in a more conducive setting.