Peer grading is the norm here beginning in 3rd grade. The kids exchange papers and are guided through a rubric to look for "strong topic sentence". They look at grammar, construction, vocabulary, etc, following the rubric on the overhead.
Then they hand the paper back to the author, and the child hands it in. They can contest a grade if they wish and then the teacher will read it. It's a rare teacher that reads all the work of all the kids. It just takes too much time.
Peer grading starting in 3rd grade is the norm here too - and I think it's been really good for my kids both because they get practice in catching mistakes and correcting them in spelling/punctuation/grammar etc but also because they have the opportunity to read different writing styles and response types.
Unlike mon's experience, the peer edit step is just a step in our kids' classrooms - their teachers still read and edit/critique their writing assignments as the last step in the writing process. I can tell the teachers are reading them because they write in notes in various places in the work, make suggestions, and explain their grades. I think it's really sad to think of teachers assigning work that they aren't going to take the time to read and give feedback on!
polarbear
