How to Grade a Student Presentation

Student presentations are useful in all subject areas. Through the presentation the teacher can quickly determine how the student has processed the information. Additionally presentations give students practice with oral communication skills, as well as listening skills. The grading of student presentations is fast and painless if you plan ahead.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Create a rubric for the presentation before you assign it to students. You may want to use one general rubric all year for any presentation or you might tailor a rubric specifically to the assignment. Another option is to have a general rubric with one component that you change for each assignment. Keep your rubric short, specific, and reasonable.

2. Spend time working with students before the presentation. Make sure they understand the rubric. You might also touch base with students to make sure they understand the material or are well rehearsed. For students who are painfully intimidated by public speaking, plan an alternate way to meet the requirement, like giving their speech just to you after school.

3. Schedule enough time into your lesson plans for student presentations. Depending upon how you choose to run the presentation project, the oral component can take anywhere from 30 minutes of class time to a week.

4. Get the class focused on the presenter. Prohibit side conversations, and model good audience behavior yourself. When the presenter heads to the front of the room, ask him to pass you his presentation rubric first. This way, you have a rubric for that student in front of you as you listen. It will make it easier to jot ideas, add comments and assess the presentation.

5. Listen and, if appropriate, encourage students to ask questions of the presenter. Try not to step on the toes of the student who is presenting by interjecting ideas, comments or corrections (unless it's absolutely necessary or requested).

Tips & Warnings

• Give students some presentation coaching before the project deadline. Remind them to make eye contact (or if they're too shy or afraid, to catch a friend's eye, scan the tops of heads in the room which gives the illusion of eye contact), face the audience, speak slowly and clearly and not stare you down. Many students presenting are so worried about your opinion that they make their presentation virtually to the teacher only.