To Grade or Not to Grade?

A Flowchart for Math Teachers

to Help You Make the Right Call Every Time

The final bell rings at 3 pm; the day is over.  Your students fly out of the classroom, relieved to end the school day.  You smile quietly to yourself. You know the feeling.  



You have been actively teaching for 7+ hours. Your feet hurt.  You barely even had time for bathroom breaks today.  You erase the board, tidy the classroom, and prep for the next day. 


You dream about your evening plans: curling up on the couch with a glass of wine in one hand, and your TV remote in the other.  Maybe, you’ll even have time for a bubble bath. 



Finally, you zip up your coat, throw your heavy teacher bag over your shoulder, and shut off the lights. You do one last quick once-over of the room as you shut the door, and that’s when you see it.

You forgot the stack of papers you meant to grade earlier.

Instantly, an internal battle commences.  Do I really need to grade them?


You go back and forth in your mind. 


 The students are expecting them back.


They won’t really care, will they?


Well, some might.


They haven’t even had time to ask questions yet...



Your mind becomes a jumble of thoughts and you wish there was an easier way to decide.



That’s why you need to print this cheat sheet and have it always accessible!  You don’t need to grade every single thing.  Grading things like daily homework assignments or bell work  may not be the best use of your time and could lead to teacher burnout.




Speaking of burnout, you may also want to check out this post if you are feeling a bit swamped right now. (https://www.mathgiraffe.com/blog/are-you-overwhelmed-as-a-math-teacher )




The next time you find yourself wondering if it’s really necessary to grade an assignment, run through the cheat sheet below.

​(Click the image to download and print a PDF version to keep at your desk.)

Print a copy for the other math teachers in your building too! And if you could use a bunch more free downloads for math teachers, make sure to get my full toolkit of items you can use in class here.