Definition

The act of grading someone else's paper [a.k.a., student peer grading, peer assessment;
peer evaluation; self-regulated learning] is a cooperative learning technique that refers
to activities conducted either inside or outside of the classroom whereby students
review, evaluate, and, in some cases, actually recommend grades on the quality of their
peer's work. Peer grading is usually guided by a rubric developed by the instructor. A
rubric is a performance-based assessment tool that uses specific criteria as a basis for
evaluation. An effective rubric makes grading more clear, consistent, and equitable.

Newton, Fred B. and Steven C. Ender. Students Helping Students: A Guide for Peer
Educators on College Campuses. 2nd edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2010;
Ramon-Casas, Marta et al. “The Different Impact of a Structured Peer-Assessment Task
in Relation to University Undergraduates’ Initial Writing Skills.” Assessment and
Evaluation in Higher Education 44 (2019): 653-663.

The Benefits of Peer Grading

Professors assign students to grade the work of their classmates because it reflects
studies in educational research that suggest the act of grading someone else's paper
increases positive learning outcomes for students. Professors use peer grading as a way
for students to practice recognizing quality research, with the hope that this will carry
over to their own work, and as an aid to improving group performance or determining
individual effort on team projects. Grading someone else's paper can also enhance
learning outcomes by empowering students to take ownership over the selection of
criteria used to evaluate the work of peers [the rubric]. Finally, professors may assign
peer grading as a way to engage students in the act of seeing themselves as members of a
community of researchers.

Other potential benefits include:

Increasing the amount of feedback students receive about their work;

Providing the instructor with an opportunity to verify student’s understanding, or lack

of understanding, of key concepts or other course content;

Encouraging students to be actively involved with, and to take responsibility for, their
own learning;

Providing an opportunity for reinforcing essential skills that can be used in professional
life, including an ability to effectively assess the work of others and to become
comfortable with having one's own work evaluated by others, and facilitating key skills,
such as, self-reflection, time management, team skills building;

Fostering a more in-depth and comprehensive process for understanding and analyzing
a research problem through repetition and reinforcement of key criteria essential to
learning a task;

Providing motivation for improvement in course assignments and a more

comprehensive perspective on learning; and,

Can assist in deepening the student’s own perception of their learning style and ways of
knowing [at a higher cognitive level, this is known as reflexivity, or, the process of
understanding one's own contribution to the construction of meaning throughout the
research process].

Boud, David, Ruth Chen, and Jane Sampson. "Peer Learning and Assessment."
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 24 (1999): 413-426; Huisman, Bart et
al. “The Impact of Formative Peer Feedback on Higher Education Students’ Academic
Writing: A Meta-Analysis.” Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 44
(September 2019): 863-880; Dochy, Filip et al. "The Use of Self-, Peer, and Co-
Assessment in Higher Education: A Review." Studies in Higher Education 24 (1999):
331-350; Falchikov, Nancy. Improving Assessment through Student Involvement:
Practical Solutions for Aiding Learning in Higher and Further Education. New York:
Routledge/Falmer, 2005; Huisman, Bart, Nadira Saab, Jan van Driel, and Paul van den
Broek. “Peer Feedback on Academic Writing: Undergraduate Students’ Peer Feedback
Role, Peer Feedback Perceptions and Essay Performance.” Assessment and Evaluation
in Higher Education 43 (2018): 955-968; Ryan, Mary Elizabeth, editor. Teaching
Reflective Learning in Higher Education: A Systematic Approach using Pedagogic
Patterns. New York: Springer, 2014; Sadler, Philip M. and Eddie Good. "The Impact of
Self- and Peer-Grading on Student Learning." Educational Assessment 11 (2006): 1-
31;Topping, Keith J. “Peer Assessment.” Theory Into Practice 48 (2009): 20-27; Rachael
Hains-Wesson. Peer and Self Assessment. Deakin Learning Futures, Deakin University,
Australia.