Soooo... How Am I Supposed To Grade A Yearbook Class?

“The first deadline they have, they never make it early because they underestimate the time it’s going to take to get a quote or that perfect picture.” However, after the first deadline, about half of her students will turn in their work early every time, even if it’s only one day early. HER ADVICE TO NEW ADVISERS “You have to figure out what you think is most important.” What helped Bare develop her system was looking at every layout and making a list from most to least important. “Then I thought about the things that really impacted someone else’s perception of that grade, and those were the things I assigned the point value to.” She continues to tweak her method every year as she evaluates the year’s successes and failures. That honest self-evaluation makes the next year even better. “I’ve figured out where I messed up on this grade or what would have made that layout better.” She also recommends getting feedback on your grading system, starting with your yearbook rep, and reaching out to people in your state’s scholastic media organization, if that’s an option. “And then [reach out to] your colleagues in your school system and other school systems. Last year, there was a new yearbook adviser in our system, and she would email me asking grading questions. I shared my rubric with her.” Workshops are another resource for new advisers, whether they’re through your yearbook company or local scholastic media organization. “I used to go to both, but now I only go to the company-sponsored workshop. It’s a little more helpful because it’s all things that are very specific to my book and the expectations of the company.”

Photo by Zoey Donels

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