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Do any of you grade papers as a side job?
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 6:19 pm
I've heard that this is a thing lately. Teachers are so busy lesson planning and living their own lives (understandably!) that they outsource their paper/test grading. Do any of you do this? I'm looking for an afternoon job I can do from home, even once I give birth this Jan iyh, and of course, doesn't hurt to make a bit of extra cash Smile do many teachers outsource?
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amother
Smokey


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 6:43 pm
I've occasionally outsourced to my husband. Does that count? Most of the time though I need to grade myself because there are too many answers that count as correct. If it's simple multiple choice it's done on Google forms anyway.
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amother
Impatiens


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 6:50 pm
I've never heard of this! I totally wish I could because grading is my Achilles heel and I procrastinate so much! It's definitely the worst part of my job. But I teach ELA and if I outsourced the essays and stories, how would I know how my students were doing? If they needed support? Maybe a college professor could get away with it... They often have TAs for that anyway.
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amother
Poppy


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:02 pm
I have graded 8th grade writings for someone. Not for pay, but as a favor. Writings are graded on a rubric - it’s either you met the criteria or you didn’t. I also wrote a detailed comment for each, which she then read and rewrote for the student in her handwriting…
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amother
Saddlebrown


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:16 pm
I used to grade my mothers papers when I was in high school then started doing my husbands when we got married till I had kids... Didnt know I could get paid for it...
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amother
Mint


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:20 pm
Very few of my kids papers could be graded by someone else... I jokingly ask my sister.
The truth is I couldn't afford to pay someone more than $5 an hour...
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honeymoon




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:21 pm
I'm having a hard time understanding why someone would choose the hardest part of teaching without getting the benefits and joys of being in the classroom...
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:28 pm
amother [ Mint ] wrote:
Very few of my kids papers could be graded by someone else... I jokingly ask my sister.
The truth is I couldn't afford to pay someone more than $5 an hour...


That $5 an hour could be great for someone!
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amother
Jean


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:31 pm
I know someone in Lakewood that does this.
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nicole81




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:35 pm
honeymoon wrote:
I'm having a hard time understanding why someone would choose the hardest part of teaching without getting the benefits and joys of being in the classroom...


Hardest can mean different things to different teachers, and is also highly dependent on where and who you teach as well. And for people who don't teach, I can imagine that many have no interest in, or would even be horrified by the thought of, leading a classroom themselves.

I also think it's really lousy of a teacher to outsource work to someone who isn't a content specialist. Grading isn't just right/wrong or meeting criteria/not meeting. It can take subject expertise and developmental knowledge to diagnose misconceptions, reasons behind them, and next steps for students. And if grading a paper doesn't require this, it's probably either a worthless assessment and/or from a teacher who is lacking these skills themselves.
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amother
SandyBrown


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:39 pm
This horrifies me.

The only grading I've asked for help with is checking off multiple choice sections, which I reviewed afterwards, in case there was a question that many students were getting wrong in the same way, which can indicate a problem in the way the question was phrased or how I taught the material.

Oh and literally counting papers if I needed a record of how many were submitted (for specific projects/contests, etc.). In other words, I've only asked for help with grading things that don't require the person to understand the work the students did.
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honeymoon




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:40 pm
nicole81 wrote:
Hardest can mean different things to different teachers, and is also highly dependent on where and who you teach as well. And for people who don't teach, I can imagine that many have no interest in, or would even be horrified by the thought of, leading a classroom themselves.

I also think it's really lousy of a teacher to outsource work to someone who isn't a content specialist. Grading isn't just right/wrong or meeting criteria/not meeting. It can take subject expertise and developmental knowledge to diagnose misconceptions, reasons behind them, and next steps for students. And if grading a paper doesn't require this, it's probably either a worthless assessment and/or from a teacher who is lacking these skills themselves.


Agreed. Also, not knowing the students and understanding why they wrote what they wrote and where it's coming from, can impact the way the test will be graded.
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amother
SandyBrown


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:47 pm
amother [ Poppy ] wrote:
I have graded 8th grade writings for someone. Not for pay, but as a favor. Writings are graded on a rubric - it’s either you met the criteria or you didn’t. I also wrote a detailed comment for each, which she then read and rewrote for the student in her handwriting…


No. Writing is not math. There are many ways to get something wrong and many ways to get it right. It's unfair to deduct points for specific skills that weren't taught, or that the teacher taught only in a specific way.

For example, sentence fragments are not allowed on essays, but writers can use fragments in narratives as part of dialogue or to draw attention to dramatic moments. Do the people who do the grading really learn the nuances of this particular teacher's classroom instruction? And how exactly did they teach avoiding run-on sentences?

If the writing teacher is doing his or her job properly in the classroom, they're conferencing with students and guiding them along the process. I can't imagine not wanting to respond honestly to the final product, or not to watch their progress and not to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I allow students to correct errors and improve their grade - because the learning process is more important than impressing me with a perfect submission. Students often approach me to clarify a comment or correction. I would be so embarrassed to not know what they're talking about.

Also, their work is sometimes really entertaining.
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amother
Anemone


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 8:31 pm
No but I write papers as a side job.
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nicole81




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 8:35 pm
amother [ SandyBrown ] wrote:
No. Writing is not math. There are many ways to get something wrong and many ways to get it right. It's unfair to deduct points for specific skills that weren't taught, or that the teacher taught only in a specific way.

For example, sentence fragments are not allowed on essays, but writers can use fragments in narratives as part of dialogue or to draw attention to dramatic moments. Do the people who do the grading really learn the nuances of this particular teacher's classroom instruction? And how exactly did they teach avoiding run-on sentences?

If the writing teacher is doing his or her job properly in the classroom, they're conferencing with students and guiding them along the process. I can't imagine not wanting to respond honestly to the final product, or not to watch their progress and not to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I allow students to correct errors and improve their grade - because the learning process is more important than impressing me with a perfect submission. Students often approach me to clarify a comment or correction. I would be so embarrassed to not know what they're talking about.

Also, their work is sometimes really entertaining.


Why do people always think math is different?? ELA folk, were more alike than not😁 Math is also highly complex with many ways to make errors and answer correctly, with each error or misconception requiring comprehensive knowledge of the content and also the child to appropriately diagnose and give effective feedback. Plus teachers need to use the data to reflect, revise, and improve their own practice. Outsource what?!

You sound like a great teacher. And any teacher worth their salt in any content area would be as invested as you in their students' learning process and ultimate outcomes.

I'm going to be frank here, teachers who outsource should probably take a step back and decide if this is the right career for them. No k-12 educator should ever outsource their grading, save for an extreme emergency with the knowledge that they're doing the bare minimum just to get through that point in time.

And if you're a teacher who doesn't see why outsourcing their particular assessments is problematic, speak to a mentor in the field. Your students' work is an instructional gold mine.

So I've helped derail this thread but op, sorry. I hope you can find a situation that works for you. But I'd like to know if a teacher was outsourcing, because I certainly wouldn't want my children to be their students.
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amother
Oxfordblue


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 8:39 pm
I'm pretty sure most teachers who outsource paper grading do so just for multiple choice or fill-in type questions.

Of course, a good teacher will then review each paper, but it's much quicker to just scan each page to see which questions were marked wrong than to sit and do the tedious work.
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rising hero




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 8:51 pm
I would not want anyone else to grade my failed test, bad enough that the teacher and parents see it.
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amother
DarkRed


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 8:57 pm
In seminary, I helped grade tests for my high school Chumash teacher. We used a set of markings to indicate if answers were correct/incorrect or if I was unsure. The teacher then reviewed the test, tallied the grade and wrote the comment. I was paid directly by the school, 20$/hour.
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nicole81




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 8:59 pm
amother [ Oxfordblue ] wrote:
I'm pretty sure most teachers who outsource paper grading do so just for multiple choice or fill-in type questions.

Of course, a good teacher will then review each paper, but it's much quicker to just scan each page to see which questions were marked wrong than to sit and do the tedious work.


It's just inefficient aside from a waste of money. This can be done automatically through Google forms, scantron machines, etc. For goodness sake, the students themselves can grade these. There are also apps now that can scan a multiple choice paper to mark them. And the apps provide the data analysis too.
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amother
Poppy


 

Post Thu, Oct 14 2021, 9:22 pm
amother [ SandyBrown ] wrote:
No. Writing is not math. There are many ways to get something wrong and many ways to get it right. It's unfair to deduct points for specific skills that weren't taught, or that the teacher taught only in a specific way.

For example, sentence fragments are not allowed on essays, but writers can use fragments in narratives as part of dialogue or to draw attention to dramatic moments. Do the people who do the grading really learn the nuances of this particular teacher's classroom instruction? And how exactly did they teach avoiding run-on sentences?

If the writing teacher is doing his or her job properly in the classroom, they're conferencing with students and guiding them along the process. I can't imagine not wanting to respond honestly to the final product, or not to watch their progress and not to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I allow students to correct errors and improve their grade - because the learning process is more important than impressing me with a perfect submission. Students often approach me to clarify a comment or correction. I would be so embarrassed to not know what they're talking about.

Also, their work is sometimes really entertaining.


I’m aware it’s not math and it’s dependent on each students individual abilities along with the teachers method of instruction. Which is why I put the numbers into the rubric but write a detailed comment explaining my decisions. She has the option to change the mark I gave at her discretion- she rewrites it in her handwriting. This only helps her avoid the tedious aspect of reading over and noticing the strength and weakness of each paper
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