One of the best pieces of advice I ever received as a new teacher was from a senior colleague who listened to me express anxiety about handing back graded papers to my class. She looked at me and said, “Why don’t you just deploy the ‘24-hour rule’?” I looked at her blankly and she explained that she told her students that it was her policy not to discuss their papers/tests/projects with them until 24 hours after they had received them. She insisted it significantly reduced the number of concerned students following her back to her office wanting an explanation for this or that part of their grade.
I tried it and I’ve never looked back. When I pass back assignments, I tell students that I spent time commenting on and evaluating their work and that, therefore, I’d ask that they take 24 hours to try to understand my comments before they come to see me about them. I reassure them that I welcome their visits during office hours, that I’m happy to work with them to understand why they earned the grade that they did, and that I’m more than willing to help them figure out how to do better on the next assignment, but that they need to read over all my comments and they need time to do that. Thankfully, I still have students come talk to me about their performance and how they can improve it (and I am genuinely glad they do so), but what I don’t have are the numerous questions that are largely an emotional reaction to the grade (separate from the whole of my comments and evaluation). In talking to a few students about this practice over the years, I’ve been told that the time allowed them to process the comments and the grade.
By the way, I never call it a “one-day rule”. It shouldn’t make a difference, but somehow it does. Perhaps it is just that I like the way that “24 hours” stresses again the time that I’ve put into commenting on their work, and the time that I’m asking them to put into understanding why they earned the grade that they did.
What about you? How do you deal with passing back graded work? [Or if you're a student, how do you want faculty to address graded work?]
[Photo by Flickr user RecycledStarDust; Creative Commons licensed]
Follow Profhacker through your favorite RSS reader: 
14 Responses to The Value of 24 Hours in Passing Back Graded Work
Amy Cavender - October 9, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I do the same thing. And I explicitly tell my students that it’s partly to defuse the emotion that can be involved. I usually say something like, “I ask you to take the time so that you can read over the comments and look back over your materials, but also so we can have a much more productive discussion when you come to see me. Too often people come to see me when they’re still upset. That gets my defenses up, and I tend to push back a bit, and the resulting conversation isn’t good for either of us. Waiting 24 hours usually results in much more helpful conversations.” Students seem to respect the approach–at least, I’ve never had anyone take issue with it.
Mike Duvall - October 9, 2009 at 3:44 pm
This has been my practice ever since graduate school at the University of Maryland. I think Linda Coleman, who headed up the first year writing program at that time, recommended it. It really takes the immediate student reaction out of the equation. Once they get past that, there’s a better chance for a helpful discussion.
For those students who want to meet, I ask that they read not only any comments I have made, but also that they read the scoring guide that I provide as well. This grounds the discussion and objectifies things somewhat, which again, allows for a more productive meeting.
George H. Williams - October 9, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I went to grad school with Mike, and I also learned this practice from Linda Coleman. It’s invaluable!
It doesn’t hurt to have your calendar with you in case students want to go ahead and make an appointment when you hand back the graded material.
And as Mike points out, if you have the student re-read the scoring guide or rubric (along with the original assignment sheet), then you can (hopefully) more successfully direct the conversation to the standards by which the assignment was evaluated.
Kerri - October 9, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I have used this for the past few years and love the results. I explain that I understand how unproductive emotionally-led conversations are from being on both the receiving and giving end– and I tell about one time when I was a student and I was a little mouthy with an instructor. I felt lousy and guilty after, and spent the rest of the semester thinking the professor felt I was a jerk for it. Now, about 95% of the time, when students wait the extra time and then come to see me, they are able ask for clarification and help in more mature, thoughtful ways.
Jason Mittell - October 9, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I follow this policy when I hand back work in paper form, and agree it’s useful to avoid drama and move toward more productive conversation. The trouble is as I’ve moved to e-grading, the temptation & ease for students to hit reply & vent is too great. And I feel awkward putting a comment in an email saying “please wait 24 hours before responding” – the face-to-face delay feels more organic and less artificial.
Has anyone come up with a good way to avoid the emotional email reply to a grade?
Katie Manning - October 9, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I do this as well, but I actually present the 24-hour rule as a useful “life tip” that has application beyond my class. I ask students to read my comments and think about their work before coming to me, and I point out that if they’re upset about the grade, they should particularly wait a day or more before they speak to me about it. I add that this will be true for other academic and job situations too. It’s never a good idea to approach a professor, boss, coworker, or really anyone with a reactionary, upset response. This often leads people to say things they regret later, and it’s much more productive to think about the situation and the appropriate response beforehand.
Perhaps this is my way of furthering the English class’s role of creating critical thinkers in any field.
Kait - October 9, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I’ve started using this tip back when I was a TA – our coordinator gave us a book of “helpful tips for the first-year teacher,” and I found it in there. I’ve found that it seriously cuts back on the number of complaints I have to deal with! I tell them to wait 24 hours, read through the comments, and make their case via email. This gives me some time to actually remember why I graded something the way I did and give a similarly reasonable response. I’ve had a number of students come to me right at the end of class, but when I tell them to wait 24 hours, I most often don’t hear from them again.
I’m glad I don’t call it the one day rule. I’ve had some students try to email me at midnight, claiming its a day later, but I still wait it out.
Rohan Maitzen - October 9, 2009 at 6:53 pm
I hadn’t formalized this as a policy but I do usually ask that they take some time and look at the paper again with my comments in mind. I think I will be more explicit about the ‘life lesson’ aspect of this from now on. When they do come and see me, I also use a version of the same ‘rule’ for myself: I will talk over an assignment with a student on the spot, but if we are struggling to get clear about how I evaluated it, or they are adamant that they want their grade changed, I always agree to keep the paper and give it another look. That is very helpful in defusing tension too, I think, and ensures that I am not going to be pressured into a bad decision or just dig in because I feel defensive.
Jeff McClurken - October 11, 2009 at 10:30 am
Jason,
I tend to tell people who have concerns with an e-graded paper to come to my office to talk about it. I haven’t yet made the equivalent kind of statement about waiting 24 hours in my emails, but as I move toward returning more graded items that way it’s something I’ll have to consider.
Have others run into this e-grading “hit reply & vent” issue?
Pat Gehrke - October 10, 2009 at 4:46 pm
This is also great advice for taking in criticism of one’s own work, be it from reviewers or elsewhere. When I get a set of reviews back usually I allow myself to read them once, maybe twice, and then I am not to look at them or the manuscript again for at least 24 hours (I have had a couple reviews that took significantly longer for me to be able to approach productively). After I let the initial reaction to the review cool off, I usually find even the poorest reviews (and I mean here the ones that display the least serious engagement with the manuscript) and the harshest criticism (which can come from great reviews as well as poor ones) can yield some useful ideas for revision and the next stage of that manuscript, whatever that may be. It doesn’t always work… I do still have two peer reviews that are frame-worthy for their vitriol and venom, but even those I found helpful after letting enough of my own initial reaction subside.
With graduate students I sometimes share those experiences and talk about my own need to deploy something like the 24-hour cool-down for myself, which I think helps them take it on more as an ethos and attitude about scholarship, rather than a rule I have imposed. One way I do end up enforcing this rule, though, is that I ask students to make an appointment to meet with me to go over papers so that we can have more time and less distraction than my open office hours usually allow. As such, I can just be sure to schedule the meeting outside the 24-hour window.
Nels P. Highberg - October 11, 2009 at 4:37 pm
What’s funny is that I came over here to comment at how much I think e-grading has meant that I no longer get any emotional, quick responses. My grading has been fully digital for years now, and I have never received a response from a student in the moment. I don’t have the twenty-four-hour rule in place, though I did when I returned things in person. I do have a line in the generic email about checking the grading rubric and making an appointment to go over essays with me, so that may stop those responses. Plus, I allow a lot of revisions in my classes, specially on papers written in the first half of the semester, so that may help, too, since students know that this grade does not necessarily stick (though less than half ever revise).
George - October 11, 2009 at 4:59 pm
My grading has been fully digital for years now…
Nels, you’re totally writing this up for a forthcoming ProfHacker post, right? …right?
GC Fiedler - October 11, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I like this rule, though would be surprised if my students would take the time to look over their papers in the mean time.
I have a different 24 hour rule. When I’m grading an important assignment (high point value) or determining final grades, I wait 24 hours after calculations/marking before I return the assignment or post the grades. This gives me time to reflect if I have been fair and to look at their work again with a different perspective before finalizing grades.
William Patrick Wend - November 4, 2009 at 7:50 pm
All of my grading is digital as well and so far I have not received a single overly emotional reply. I also adhere to the 24 hour rule (learned as an undergrad while doing my Philosophy minor) and most students have stuck to it. The good majority of my students will stay and speak to me after class to deal with any issues with their work.