Dear Nona,

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of grading I have to do. I have six social studies classes (30 students each). If I give one assignment, that is 180 grades I have to complete. Help!

—Overwhelmed & Buried in Papers

Dear Overwhelmed & Buried in Papers,

If grading were a sport, you’d be in the Teacher Olympics right now. Let me start with a hard truth: You do not have to grade everything. Say it with me: You. Do. Not. Have. To. Grade. Everything.

Now, let’s get you out from under this avalanche:

—Differentiate what’s worth grading. Some assignments are for practice. Some are for participation. Some are for feedback, others for determining mastery. Not every assignment needs a score. Grade selectively.

—Use spot-checks when appropriate. Instead of grading every single question, pick a few key ones. Check for understanding, not perfection.

—Batch grading by sections. Grade all question #1s first, then all question #2s—it speeds up your brain’s processing.

—Use the magic of rubrics. Quick scoring = faster grading. And no, you do not need to write a novel in the margins of every student’s paper.

—Try “one-pagers” instead of essays if possible. Students show understanding in one page, one quote, one visual. Less writing = less grading.

—Self-checking or peer review. Teach students to assess their own work (with guidelines) before handing it in.

—Exit tickets = quick assessment. A single-response question can tell you what you need without a 20-minute paper review.

—Go verbal when you can. A 30-second recorded comment (use Google Docs, Voice Notes, or Kami) saves so much time vs. written feedback.

—Use auto-grading tools. Google Forms, EdPuzzle, and Canvas quizzes can handle basic assessments for you.

—Comment banks. Create reusable feedback comments and copy-paste instead of retyping the same thing 180 times.

What to Expect Next:

—You’ll feel guilty at first. Teachers think they have to grade everything to be “fair.” Nope. Students learn just as much from quick feedback.

—Students might ask, “Why isn’t this graded?” Your response? “Not everything is about a grade. Some things are just about getting better.”

—Your life will improve. And honestly? That’s a win for everyone.

If you take one thing away from this: Stop feeling guilty. Now, go forth and reclaim your time.

— Nona

Additional Resource

Grading Smarter, Not Harder by Myron Dueck – A practical guide to reducing grading overload while improving student learning.

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