Do you use standardized feedback when assessing student work?
Standardized feedback is a type of assessment that uses the same criteria or pre-defined format to assess student work. It is a way to promote consistency in grading and can save you time when marking.
Non-standardized feedback can be more informal and personal. It’s feedback that is tailored to each student and varies in phrasing and tone.
It’s important to remember that not all assignments require detailed, personalized feedback.
Teachers already have a heavy workload, so sometimes, it’s necessary to use standardized feedback, especially for routine assignments or when managing a large class.
Using standardized feedback can save you time when assessing student work. It is also beneficial when it comes to writing report cards. However, as teachers, we still want to make sure to provide specific and differentiated feedback for each student.
How To Use Standardized Feedback For Assessment
Using standardized feedback can help make your assessment process easier without having to sacrifice quality. Below are some practical ideas to help you learn how to compile and organize comments and start using standardized feedback as part of your assessment process.
Figure Out What Assignments Work With Standardized Feedback
Let’s start with a simple scenario. You have a brand new vacuum packager for food. You’ve never used one before. Would you be able to just jump in and start using it right away, using the same settings for all of the food you want to package? Probably not.
One setting that works for something like deli meat won’t work the same for chicken in a marinade. It would take a few tries to see what works and what doesn’t work.
It’s similar to standardized feedback.
If it’s your first time assigning or assessing a particular task, it’s a good idea to mark 5 to 7 student submissions before creating any standardized feedback.
This will give you a good idea of what the common areas of concern are (such as repeated errors) and where students need to improve. Then, you can more easily create a short, helpful, and reusable list of feedback comments.
You might also realize that this type of assignment needs more personalized feedback.
For example, if you’re marking short stories, you might notice that students struggle with dialogue punctuation or consistent verb tense. In this sense, it’s easy to prepare a useful bank of feedback comments. On the other hand, for something like character development or assessing the flow of a story from plot to climax to ending, the assessment might need more personalization.
Remember, not all assignments are the same, and through trial and error, you’ll find out which assignments can use standardized feedback and which ones would benefit from tailored, personalized feedback.
Create Numbered Standardized Feedback
Once you’ve identified the common areas where students need improvement, you can create a short list of 4-6 standardized comments. Each item of feedback is given a number, and then you can use that number in your markbook or on a class list to keep a record of where each student needs to improve.
Here’s an example of standardized comments for a persuasive writing assignment:
- Ensure your thesis contains three supporting points.
- Add more specific evidence or examples to support your arguments.
- Improve your concluding paragraph by clearly restating your main points.
- Proofread your work carefully for grammar and spelling errors.
- Use transitions to connect ideas more smoothly.
In your markbook (either physical or one created in Google Sheets), you might note:
- Jane Smith: 4, 5
- Joe Smith: 2, 4
Now, you’ll know at a glance that Jane needs support with proofreading her work for grammar and spelling, as well as using transitions to connect ideas, while Joe needs to work on adding specific evidence or examples to his work, as well as proofreading it for spelling and grammar.
This can save time when grading, help track student growth during the school year, and help you keep track of which assignments work in the class and which ones might need to be tweaked.
For example, if you’re writing down numerous numbers for each student for a particular assignment, maybe the instructions need to be changed, an anchor chart needs to be created, or you can get student feedback on what might not be working in that particular assignment.
Standardized feedback is a fantastic reference when marking future assignments to see if students are improving. It is also a great tool for report card comments because you can create specific and differentiated comments for each student.
To get more ideas about assessment, check out this helpful blog post, Managing the Marking Load.
Consider Using a Digital Markbook
You might love your paper markbook or a printed class list, but consider using a digital markbook for your standardized feedback. You can use Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel for your assessments and have a column for standardized feedback codes.
You can add dropdown menus, use colour coding, or create different categories based on the subject you’re teaching. Plus, you can easily tweak your comments without having to rewrite everything by hand.
Plus, digital markbooks can be a fantastic tool because they automatically save, they won’t be misplaced, they can be accessed from anywhere (no more forgetting your markbook at school or at home), and they’re safe from an accidental coffee spill or being tossed in the garbage or being filed incorrectly.
Include Standardized Feedback In Rubrics
If you’ve taught the assignment before and already have a rubric, you can incorporate standardized feedback directly into the document. This makes it easy to communicate standards with students and can save you from rewriting the same feedback multiple times.
At the bottom or back of your rubric, include a feedback section divided into:
- Stars (Areas of Strengths)
- Wishes (Areas for Growth or Next Steps)
For example, in the Grade 8 Yearbook Assignment rubric example above, the feedback includes:
Stars:
- Great use of layout space
- Good work incorporating the photos on your page
Wishes:
- Fonts too hard to read
- Missing words about you
With this feedback, you can simply highlight or check two stars and one wish to give students clear, specific feedback without overloading them. Plus, if you share this ahead of time with students, they can have a clear idea of what is expected of them in the assignment, making it easier for them to reflect and revise as they go.
Revising Your Notes for Report Cards
One of the best things about standardized feedback is how helpful it can be when report card season arrives. They provide a record of what each student consistently excelled at and where they need or needed more support.
You can now use the data from your standardized feedback to write personalized, evidence-based report card comments quickly and accurately.
For example:
- “Jane is working on transitions in her writing and has shown consistent growth in her use of grammar and sentence structure.”
- “Joe is learning how to develop his arguments with more detailed examples, and his spelling and grammar have shown improvement.”
Final Thoughts on Using Standardized Feedback
Using standardized feedback isn’t about reducing the quality of your teaching – it’s about finding efficient ways that help save you time while also supporting every student. When you build feedback into your rubrics, organize your comments, and find ways to make them work for you, you can reduce your marking load while still giving meaningful, differentiated responses.
Hopefully, these ideas will help you start saving time by using standardized feedback as part of your regular assessment methods.
For more content about assessments:
- 6 Quick Assessment Strategies
- Student Designed Assessments
- 10 Engaging Digital Assessment Tools
- Strategies for Streamlining Assessment & Evaluation
- Quick Assessment Tips For Effective Student Evaluation
- Tips and Tricks to Help You Improve Your Assessment Skills
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