Student evaluations

One of the most distressing aspects of my job is the need to assign grades to students' performance. In general, my grading consists of a few basic elements; periodic exams, homework assignments, and an indicator of participation (sometimes just attendance). Do those items reflect what a student has learned? Probably not. In some narrow way they may measure the ability of a student to memorize information, sometimes to apply it to a new situation, but that is about it. I can't measure enthusiasm, effort, or interest very well. Should I?

Writing exams is the most difficult area. It is hard to find ways to ask questions that just don't require the regurgitation of facts. I don't want students to memorize definitions, nobody needs to know the textbook definition of "ecological fallacy" for instance. But, I would like them to be able to recognize one when they see one. That means finding, or constructing, examples of principles that are clear and easy to interpret. That is hard.

Invariably, a student will read a question in a way in which I never intended it to be read. Is that "wrong"? How should I interpret a student's creative attempts at an answer? Essay questions can be particularly difficult to grade since students like to take the "kitchen sink" approach. They will throw in any piece of information that might possibly be relevant to the answer, hoping that somewhere in the mix they have included what I wanted.

In the end, I'm sure some students end up with better grades than they deserve and some with worse. I used to worry about it, now I just accept it.