39 Concerns about grading

How did you respond to student concerns about grades from TAs?

EG: From my own TA experience, I think the most important thing is that TAs feel supported. I reviewed all graded assignments in my class (but in upper year courses would likely only view a sample), so TAs knew the grades were supported by me. So I began by asking TAs if they feel confident in the grade. If they did, I urged them to email the student with their rationale, their commitment to stand by the grade, and a reminder that a regrade may result in a lower grade. If the student persisted I had the TA redirect them to me. If the grade does need to be changed for some reason (maybe the TA miscalculated, missed a section, etc.), I’d work with the TA to decide how they’d like to inform the student.

ES: If a student reached out to a TA to request a regrade, the TA would refer the student to me. I would tell the student that I would be happy to regrade their work, but it may result in a lower grade. If the student persisted, I would ask the student to write a 150-200 word explanation as to why they felt the grade was not suitable for the assignment, which I would then look over. I would go to their assignment with this reasoning in mind, read through the assignment, and regrade it.

If the student feels as though they were still graded unfairly, they have the right to appeal to the head of the department. This can happen for either an assignment or their final grade. From there, the head of the department will meet with you to hear your rationale behind the complainant’s grade. This is why I always take care to mark all of my students anonymously — there is no possibility for a student to claim favoritism or penalization.