How I Cut My Grading Time by at Least Half - History Gal

How I Cut My Grading Time by at Least Half

By History Gal
I teach high school on the alternating block schedule - meaning I teach 6 class in total, but I only see 3 classes a day. I have a total of 173 students (!!!). So on days with quizzes or tests, I end up with 173 quizzes or tests to grade.

Here's some scary math:
If it takes me just 15 seconds to grade each student's 25 multiple choice question quiz, it'll take me about 45 minutes to grade them all. If it takes me 1 minute to grade 100 matching/multiple choice questions on a test, I'll spend almost 3 hours grading those tests (not even including any written parts!). I don't know about you, but there's a lot I'd rather be doing than all this grading!

Musings of a History Gal
This year I discovered an app called ZipGrade that has helped me cut my grading time for quizzes into minutes and my grading time for tests by more than half. The app lets me INSTANTLY grade my students' quizzes and tests using my phone. I'm a bit of a skeptic by nature so I checked out their free version first and loved it so much, I bought the full version for $6.99. If you grade a lot of tests, this will be, hands down, the best money you have ever spent for your classroom.


Musings of a History GalWith ZipGrade, I can create quizzes and tests that range from 5 questions to 100 questions. I simply follow the easy steps on the app to create a new quiz (or test) and then I create the answer key by touching on the correct answer - SUPER EASY! There's even an option to create multiple keys if you are giving different versions of the test!

 Students use ZipGrade's bubble sheets that you can download for free from their site. You can adapt them as needed for your class. I added letters inside the bubbles on my forms because several of my students said they had a hard time figuring out what circle was for what letter. If you want to save yourself some time, you can download my versions HERE.
Musings of a History GalStudents LOVE the instant grade - they don't have to wait for me to grade them by hand any more!
And I LOVE that I am able to get 173 quizzes and tests graded quickly! I also really like the Item Analysis feature. I can quickly glance at it to see how many students got each question correct and it helps me identify poorly worded questions that confused students or topics I need to go over again with my class.

I could go on and on about this great app, but instead of reading about me singing its praises, you should go and check it out. You can thank me later :)

(** I am not affiliated with ZipGrade at all, I just love how much time I am saving by using it!)

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2 comments

  1. I can't preview your form on my iPad, but I did want to comment that Zipgrade does have forms with the letters inside the bubble sheets. I just went to see if they were still there, and it looks like you have to click on the link at the bottom that says something like "previous static beta versions." I guess they moved them because it looks like they have a customize feature that I have not seen before. I don't often go to that page because I usually print my forms from the classes page bc I have already put all of my students into the program instead of just having the students write their names in the blanks (except with the 20 question forms, of course). I've been using Zipgrade for 3-4 years now, and I love it! Best money I ever spent on educational things. The forms you print that already have student names on them do not, unfortunately, have the letters, but my students have gotten used to not having them.

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    Replies
    1. Cool! I'm going to have to go check that out!

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