Time-Saving Strategies for Busy Teachers: Grading Edition 

Are you a busy teacher feeling overwhelmed with stacks of paper to grade? Do you wish there were more hours in a day so that you could get it all done? If so, then this blog post is for you! So pour yourself a cup of coffee (or whatever beverage you love) as we dive into our ultimate guide on streamlining grading methods!

Strategy #1: Organize Your Grading System

Student Numbers 

Many elementary teachers use student numbers for a variety of things within the classroom. 

BUT, using them to bring order & structure to your grading system is a game-changer! 

Here’s how 🙂

Students are given a number generally in alphabetical order according to their last name. Most grade books (and any other class list) are set up in alphabetical order according to students’ last names. 😲

So, instead of grading papers in any order and having to hunt and find each student’s name in your grade book, put the papers in number order first. 

That way once you have graded all of the assignments, you can just go down your roster list and input scores into your grade book. 🙌

To save yourself even more time, create a student job that is devoted to organizing assignments for you in number order before you even look at them! I have even more details about classroom jobs in this blog post. 

Bonus tip- Another way I used student numbers is to keep track of attendance. Students simply moved their number to “in” every day and I could quickly see which students were absent.

Strategy #2: Be Selective in What You Grade

While it is tempting to want to provide feedback on each and every piece of content your students create, it can also feel overwhelming. 

Sometimes, you just need someone to come alongside you and say, “It’s okay to not grade everything.” 

There are still ways to provide meaningful feedback and understand where your students are at without looking at each piece of paper. 👍

Exit Tickets 

Create one or two problems that ask the question: “Do you understand how to do __?”

Grading the exit tickets is wonderful for several reasons: 

💫 You are able to see which of your students understand the concept and who still needs more assistance. 

💫 Students are given feedback right away, not after they have used the same faulty method for 20 math problems.

💫 One or two questions per student is very manageable. 

To make exit tickets even easier to grade, use Google Forms since they are SELF-GRADING! Here’s how: 

1️⃣ Create the exit ticket in Google Forms. You can type out the question, insert a screenshot of a math problem right out of the book, or do a combination of the two.

2️⃣ Add the correct answer to each question. 

Make the questions multiple choice and select the correct answer. 

Type the correct answer in for each question…but be careful, capitalization, spelling, and spacing all matter in Google being able to identify the correct answer. 

3️⃣ Send the Google Form to your students.

Via a link, Google classroom, scanning a QR code, etc. 

4️⃣ Sit back, watch your students answer the questions & allow Google to do the grading for you! 

✅ Your students will receive instant feedback! 

✅ You will receive all of their scores in a Google sheet! 

Personally, using Google Forms for math exit tickets is amazing! If you are looking for some 3rd – 5th grade math exit tickets to use in your classroom, or for inspiration, check out my TPT listings below! 

• 3rd Grade Math Google Forms
• 4th grade Math Google Forms
• 5th grade Math Google Forms

A Sampling of Problems 

Sometimes we really want students to put the skills to practice, and that means we want them to complete more than one or two problems. 

However, that doesn’t mean you need to check all of the problems. 

Choose a couple of problems or questions that require different skills to create a well-rounded picture of how your students are doing. 

This way you are able to see what your students have learned, they are gaining some great feedback, and it isn’t eating up your entire weekend. 🎉

Strategy #3: Involve Your Students  

Ultimately, the purpose of the grade is to help yourself and your students know how they are doing at mastering various skills & concepts. 

So, why not involve them in the grading process? 

Grade in Class  

Some of you aren’t going to love this idea, and that’s fine! As the teacher, you get to decide how things happen in your classroom. ❤️

Here are a few ways students can help grade:

⭐ pass out colorful pens & having students mark up their own assignments

⭐ trade papers and grading a peer’s work 

Involving your students in the grading process can be a simple part of your day that helps save you some time. 

No matter what tips you choose to use while grading, don’t be afraid to get creative and think outside the box! 

Cultivate a grading rhythm that works for you as a teacher and doesn’t keep you at home every Saturday during the school year. 😊

Grading isn’t the only part of a teacher’s life that can take time…lesson planning is another. Here I share a lot of different time-saving tips for planning your daily lessons!