When walking into a college classroom, most students do not expect to have to grade or rate themselves. This is usually something that the teacher or professor is expected to do, but when the roles are reversed, how do the students feel?

Many students see this is as an opportunity to give themselves whatever grade they want, requiring them not to do as much work or quality work that they may have been capable of.  Not all college professors allow their students to have this chance, though, which raises the question of whether giving students this option is beneficial or detrimental.

I think that giving students the chance to grade or rate themselves within a classroom setting is unfair and not a good idea for both the teacher and student. I believe this because an overwhelming number of students would take this as an opportunity to do less work and end up with whatever grade they want. On the other hand, the self-evaluation stresses out the student.

I think a personal evaluation should be included with the grade, but it should be between the teacher and student.  It is a reflection of how that student did within the class. This idea gives both the teacher and student the ability to express how they think they did throughout the class and the ability to be open about themselves.

I think that self-evaluation throughout the course is a good way to reflect on work that has been handed in or graded. This gives the students an opportunity to say how they feel that the class has been going. It also gives students an idea of their progress throughout the semester.

I think that the biggest issue at hand would be that students may not be able to know whether the grade itself was appropriate in comparison with the work that they had done.

“I believe it’s very important for students to think about how well they’re preparing and how actively they are participating, because I think this helps them to understand how much they are partners in education, not just passive receivers of information,” Dr. Louis Martin, professor of English, said.

Martin is one of few professors at the College who implements the idea of self-evaluation and believes in it strongly. The collaboration of student and professor for a combined grade makes it possible to come to a conclusion about the work that was done, see how hard the student worked and what that student can then work on in the future.

“I have students assess their own preparation and participation on a weekly basis, and I review their assessments and hand them back. They write down the points that they think they deserve, and I either confirm or change the number of points. I more commonly have to add points than take them away, as students don’t give themselves as much credit sometimes as I think they deserve,” Martin said.

Although Martin employs self-evaluation for all of his classes, many students on campus have never had a professor ask them how they feel about the quality of the work that they completed throughout the semester.

“I don’t like to do self-evaluations in class, because I feel uncomfortable giving myself a good evaluation; but at the same time, it is a part of my grade, and I want it to be good. I always feel stuck, and I never know what to do,” sophomore Sarah Nolen said.

Due to the pressure of not knowing how to grade yourself and what the teacher expects of you, I do not believe that self-evaluations are very effective. Many students do not even have professors that have them reflect on themselves. It stresses the students out to try to make the right decision. I do not think students would rate themselves appropriately under the pressure of not knowing what is right and wrong and how their teacher feels about them.