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Ideas
Option to complain about ATs gradings
I was graded by an AT, who to say it mildly had graded me completely wrong, now I wouldn´t normally waste my time on complaining, but when the AT is three grades away from the proper one it´s a problem. I had a friend doublecheck my assignment just to make sure that I wasn´t being dumb, I wasn´t.
I get that they are the ones who are supposed to check graders, but when they are the graders themselves we should have the possibility to complain and get a second opinion!
Therefore I suggest we get the complain button on AT´s gradings like we do on the regular ones.
This would also be a great way to make sure that our TAs actually do their job properly and avoid them being all-powerful in the gradingsdepartment.
If normal graders should be punished for wrong gradings so should TAs, but that´s just my opinion.
Customer support service by UserEcho
I, as an AT, can absolutly understand your anger about that decision and I am sorry that you feel treated wrong.
But punishing an AT for grading you - from your point of view - "wrong" isn't a good solution.
The teachers usually let their ATs know what they want to see in an assignment and the ATs just look if that is given.
If there is a case in which ATs aren't sure about the garde, they talk to their teachers.
This is what I do and every AT I know does.
You have the opportunity to talk to your teacher - and of course the ATs - anytime. Write your professor an owl, send him your assignment and the feedback given by the AT and he will have a look. I am not sure if he can change the grade but he can talk to the AT so that it won't happen again (if the grade really doesn't fit your assignment).
The problem I see in punishing an AT is that ATs don't get points or galleons for grading your homework.
And the 20 galleons they recieve each week are underpaid for some subjects. (I know that some subjects have more than 50 assignments a week).
While a "normal" student earn money and points for their house, ATs have a constant amount of money and it is more for your sake than for theirs.
So how should the punishment look like for you?
I hope everyone understands what I am trying to say ...
Although I can see why people oppose this idea, I would actually like this idea. I understand that it's an AT's job to know how to grade correctly, but I have had a problem with an AT grading my assignments twice and there was nothing I could do to get the points and galleons back and get the grade corrected.
First time, I was given an EE because the AT said the teacher prefered more detail, but all requirements had been met. They had been a new AT and after speaking with the teacher, they spoke with them and instructed them that they couldn't downgrade for detail, but who knows if that AT did that to other students before I said something. New ATs are hired pretty often (compared to other jobs) and they don't always know that isn't alright.
Second time, I mistyped my year and was given a Troll because the AT believed I submitted the wrong year, though it still met all requirements.
In both cases, the teachers agreed I deserved an Outstanding, but because it had been graded by an AT, the grade was final and could not be changed.
I'm not saying that the ATs need to be punished because there would be no point in that, but I'm also an AT, and I know for a fact that I'm not perfect and that there is room for error. A way for a student to send in a complaint just like every other grade would be highly appreciated.
I see your point and maybe it should be something inbetween.
Not punishing the AT but sending in a complaint sounds good and fair to me. And the option for teachers to change the grade. even tough an AT corrected it.
Yes, that sounds absolutely perfect.
I get the point in this, but I am afraid ppl will complain every time they don't get Outstanding and then the leader/teacher gets so much work it's not easy to handle. And on those sites where the teacher is over the AT, the teacher doesn't necessarily know how to grade better...
Students can already complain every time they don't get an Outstanding, and if it didn't deserve an Outstanding, then their complaint is rejected.
If the teacher doesn't know how to grade better, then they can bring it to the other teachers for assistance or the HM of the site.
I agree that you should be able to send a complaint on the AT because then the teacher can go in and make the ultimate decision. I am not sure if the punishment should look the same, if the AT only receives 20 galleons a week- it should be much more knowing that they grade tons and make ultimate decisions. I could see them loosing house points though as they get them when they do their own assignments. And give the wrong grade is a sign of poor faith.
Well I do not agree in the point of taking away housepoints.
As I am not only an AT but head editor and journalist of Hufflepuffs' newspaper, quidditch coach and welcoming commitee I have no time writing own assignments.And if ATs of some subjects get 50 or more complaints or assignments a week, they would have time to do so neither.
And I think it is not fair taking away points for making a mistake - nobody is perfect and we are all human beings - especially not those which one earned for good assignments.
And everyone should remind himself that ATs do not give "wrong" grades on purpose!
The way I see it, the AT should not get a punishment because they don't get paid per assignment they grade. Everyone makes mistakes, including the ATs. The point of adding the feature to submit a complaint on something an AT graded is so the user can get the grade corrected if the AT makes a mistake, not so the AT can be punished.
If it becomes a reoccurring issue with the AT, then it would be on the teacher to deal with the situation and bring it to a stop.