Improving Grading in Large Classes with Gradescope

“I have been using Gradescope since the Fall of 2015. This program has been extremely helpful to evaluate the students in my classes. Beyond the student evaluations, I have been able to better analyze how I provide assessments and instruction in the classroom. With the ability to go back and look at the statistics of each question, I can review difficult content in class and even create multiple choice questions based on essay questions. Overall, I have been extremely happy with Gradescope and the responsiveness of the folks from Gradescope.”  Jennifer Robichaud, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

In 2015 Jennifer Robichaud and Kristen Lewis were looking for a tool that would improve how grading is done for large classes in the Department of Biological Sciences.  They discovered a product called Gradescope, which had its beginning in the Computer Science department at UC Berkeley.

Gradescope saves time grading existing paper-based assignments and exams while also making grading and feedback more consistent.  Gradescope works well for multiple question types:  paragraphs, proofs, diagrams, fill in the blank, true/false, and more.  Gradescope also enables you to grade programming assignments automatically or manually.

The OIT’s Academic Technologies group is partnering with faculty across the academy on a one year pilot evaluation of Gradescope.  If you think you might be interested in helping us evaluate Gradescope please fill out this form and we will contact you and help you get started.

How does Gradescope work?  There are five basic steps after students have completed the assignment or exam:

1. Faculty upload a blank version of the assignment or exam and indicate the locations on the form where they expect student names and answers to be located.  This creates an outline of the exam for Gradescope.

2. All student submissions are scanned and uploaded to Gradescope.  Gradescope automatically detects the first page and creates separate submissions for each student.

3. Gradescope automatically matches student names written on the exam with the class roster. 

4. Gradescope recognizes similar answers and groups them together for easier review.  The instructor and TAs then create rubrics to help streamline the grading process.

5. After grading is complete and students are provided with feedback grades can be released in Gradescope and sent directly to the Sakai gradebook if desired.

For more detailed information about how Gradescope works please visit Gradescope’s site.  For more information on the types of assessments that are best suited for Gradescope please see “Assignment Workflow.”

As with any pilot, some unusual behavior or issues should be expected. We will do our best to quickly address these issues, learn from them, and use them to help us make an informed decision about continuation of the service.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, funding and support beyond the pilot is not guaranteed. Faculty and student feedback will help us understand Gradescope’s benefits and shortcomings, and this feedback will be instrumental in determining whether Gradescope moves beyond the pilot stage at Notre Dame.

To sign up for the Gradescope pilot, please fill out this form.