Self Grading Rubrics

Grading is definitely NOT one of most teachers' favorite tasks.  Feedback is so vital to the learning process, yet providing that feedback is time-consuming and sometimes soul-crushing.  In a previous blog post, I talked about using your phone to grade a rubric quickly using Google Forms while students were presenting.  Today we'll explore the useful tools automatically created for you when using Google Forms as a rubric.

Using the simple rubric example from the previous post, we assigned the grade ourselves.  Using the Individual tab in the Responses section, you can see each individual presentation you graded. 

You can click the three dots and select 'Print all responses' to print a copy of the graded rubric to share with your students. 

Automatic Grading with a Rubric

Creating a related Google Sheet:

One of the fabulous features of Google Forms is that you can create a linked spreadsheet with one click.  Click the Green + sign on the Responses tab and generate a linked spreadsheet.

This Google Sheet will automatically update whenever you submit a form.   The image below shows what my spreadsheet looks like:

I added a drop-down question with each student's email in my class.  (I used their email in case I want to go a step further and share my graded rubric with them from the spreadsheet.)  Notice the email address in column B.  I did this so I can easily pick which student presented on my phone.  

I can easily duplicate the question if I have 3 students presenting as a group, grading the group.

Calculating the Grade:

The Sheet populates the numbers I selected from the linked Google Form/rubric.  One of the great things about spreadsheets is their ability to calculate. 

Spreadsheets use the column names and row numbers to identify an individual cell.  For example, the cell identifier for the first respondent's score in the Design column is C2.

You can create a formula in Google Sheets by clicking on a cell and beginning with the = sign.

Let's think through the math for grading this presentation.

Raw Score

To have the spreadsheet calculate the raw score, you would just add up the scores in cells C2, D2, and E2.  If I want my grade to appear in Column G (Grade), I place my cursor in that column and type:

Click Enter.   Sheets automatically calculates the number for you! Drag the formula down the column for all respondents' grades to calculate.

Percentage Score

To calculate the percentage, just take the raw score and divide by points possible.  (In our case 15)

*

*(The  /  sign means to divide.)

Click Enter, and the calculated score appears!  Drag the formula down column G for all respondents' grades to calculate automatically.

Weighted Score

Let's say that you want to weight the scores:  Design 10%, Text 20%, Content 70%. 

You would want to take the score received in the category, divide by the total points possible in the category (5), and multiply that answer by the category weight.  For the Design category, the formula for the grading cell would look like this:

*

(The * sign means to multiply in the spreadsheet world.)

Create weighted calculations for each column and add them up:

The formula calculates the percentage score based on your weighted categories.  

This might seem complicated, but it is actually relatively simple when you see it in action.  

Google Forms and Google Sheets can be powerful allies for grading.  If you need some assistance, just ask!  I am more than happy to help you create a rubric that will help you grade faster!