I once read an article by someone who graded SAT essays for a living, and they realized that they actually didn't have to read them. They just scanned for the "objects" in the text and fit the rubric and checked them off. So those of us who do feel a sense of obligation to actually read what our students have written, well, yes, we do suffer! :-) Reading a standard 5-paragraph essay is like checking a student's work on a math test. It's not at all about the product of their work, just making sure that they did the work.
So true! I always thought it was so awful for the kids, but never considered how hard it must be for teachers also!
I once read an article by someone who graded SAT essays for a living, and they realized that they actually didn't have to read them. They just scanned for the "objects" in the text and fit the rubric and checked them off. So those of us who do feel a sense of obligation to actually read what our students have written, well, yes, we do suffer! :-) Reading a standard 5-paragraph essay is like checking a student's work on a math test. It's not at all about the product of their work, just making sure that they did the work.