How to Grade a Stack of Tests Faster

Before you pick up a pen

Make a real answer key. Not just the letters, but the acceptable answers for short responses and the partial-credit rules for anything worth more than one point. Five minutes here saves the slow, inconsistent decisions you'd otherwise make paper by paper.

Design the test for grading. If you're writing the test yourself, put all multiple-choice answers in a column on the right edge or on a separate answer sheet. Lining up a key next to a column of answers is far faster than hunting through the page.

Print the grading chart for the test length. With the grading chart for your number of questions next to you, you never need to divide; you count the misses and read off the percentage.

Grade by question, not by paper

For short-answer and open-response items, grade question 1 on every paper, then question 2 on every paper, and so on. It feels slower at first, but it's faster overall because you keep one question's answer and rubric in your head at a time. It's also more consistent: the student whose paper is at the bottom of the pile gets the same standard as the one at the top.

For multiple choice, grading paper by paper with an answer-key overlay or a key held alongside the answer column is usually fastest.

Count misses, not correct answers

On most tests, students get more questions right than wrong. Marking and counting the wrong answers means fewer marks and smaller numbers to add. Write the number missed at the top of the paper. That single number is all you need to look up the grade.

Turn the count into grades quickly

Once each paper has its number missed, you can convert the whole stack in a couple of minutes. In the test grader, switch to Quick grade a stack, enter the number of questions once, then type each paper's number wrong and press Enter. Each paper is logged with its percentage and letter grade, and the class average updates as you go. Write the grade on the paper as it appears.

Check before grades go out

Speed creates a few predictable errors. A two-minute check catches most of them:

• Re-count the papers at the boundaries. Any paper one question from a letter-grade change (say, one miss away from an A) deserves a second count.
• Look at the most-missed questions. If one question was missed by most of the class, check your answer key first. It's surprisingly common for the key to be wrong. See how to handle a flawed question if the question itself was the problem.
• Compare the class average with what you expected. A much lower average than usual is worth a look before grades are posted, not after.

Fast feedback that still helps

Long written comments on every paper are the slowest part of grading, and students often skip them. Two faster approaches that students actually use:

• Coded feedback. Keep a numbered list of the five or six most common mistakes on the board or a handout, and write the number next to each error ("3" = forgot units). Students look up what the code means.
• Whole-class review. Go over the three most-missed questions with the class the next day. One explanation to everyone replaces thirty identical comments.

Know when to slow down

Not everything should be graded fast. Essays, projects and anything that decides a large share of the grade deserve slower, rubric-based grading, ideally with a few papers graded twice to check you're consistent. The goal is to save time on routine checks so you have more of it for the work that needs your judgement.

Quick answers

This guide explains common practice and the math behind it. Grading rules differ between schools, so always check your school or district policy. Spotted an error? Let us know and we'll fix it.