Falling Behind

[sgaestel]

Does anyone else here fall really behind when it comes to grading?

I always do really well in the beginning of a semester, but by the end I am up to my ears in grading that needs to be done.
ARRGHHH! It is SO overwhelming!

I don't know how I always get myself into this mess. I do fine, and then with the play I fall behind and feel like I am playing catch up until the last day.

I will be spending all of tomorrow morning attempting to catch myself up on my grading! :(

[SS Rocks!]

I'll be doing the same thing tomorrow. I also have a problem with falling behind. I need to be more disciplined and grade stuff as I get it.

Happy grading! :D

[Chef Dave]

It's easy to fall behind grading. I've fallen behind this year, but in the past I've always had a day in which I return graded papers to students. Students and parents always knew that I returned graded papers on Monday ... and knowing this I was always motivated to grade enough papers just to have something to return.

[upnorthteacher]

Yes, I always seem to fall behind at some point. I have started hiring my 12 year old daughter to correct simple papers!

[TookieWilliam]

I have fallen behind before, but that is my cue that I am trying to grade too much. I refuse to take it home with me, if it can't get done in the hour before school, my planning and the 15 minutes after school (my required times to be there), then it doesn't need to get done. When you find yourself falling behind all the time it's because teachers haven't realized that they don't have to grade EVERYTHING. Some teachers judge their worth by how many hours they spend at the school after hours grading papers. I pride myself on being efficient enough not to have to.

[jsfowler]

I always fall behind at the end of the year. That is why I save a certain 3-week lesson for the last few weeks of school. Our school bought a video series, "The Shape of life", that includes eight 50-minute videos with video quiz questions that I allow students to answer during the film, and an article (with comprehension questions) and a group activity about each video.

This is so far removed from how I teach the rest of the year that I really do not feel guilty about it. There is so much paper work that needs to get done and at the end of the year various groups are absent every day. If they are there, they are quietly learning and receiving a grade. If they are involved in a school activity, they really aren't missing much and I leave the grade blank.

[Berrington]

If there's one thing that I dislike about teaching, it's all the paperwork! I, too, let grading pile up and then I regret it. I would also like to be more organized so that I could find what I needed when I needed it! These last 4 weeks I won't be doing a lot of grading, simply because of all the testing and special activities. I am thankful for that.

[smithmt]

This is the first semester of my 4 year career where I am NOT behind in grading... of course I'm only responsible for two classes with six students (total) so if I were behind, I would be in DEEP trouble!

[sgaestel]

Well, I finally did it. A lot of teachers at my school do this, and I have avoided it up to this point. I took a day off! Tomorrow I am off, and I am catching up on everything I am behind on (in my personal life too). My kids always comment on how I am ALWAYS at school... they will be shocked to see a sub in my place tomorrow! I hope to get everything done by early afternoon, and then I think I may go golfing. Ahhh...mental health day...it was much needed.

[MissTeach]

I have finally learned how to organize myself so that I don't get behind. I also have found that not everything needs to be graded. I give students credit for everything they do, but some times it is 50 points for completion of the assignment. I also have lessons I use at the end of the year that helps prevent me from getting behind. I have the students complete a project that I grade with a scoring rubric.