• Clarify student expectations and accountability.
• Dispel any confusion or anxiety about service-learning.
• Reinforce the role of service-learning in the course.
• Focus class time on substantive content rather than administrative issues.

Evaluating student service-learners

As in any course, evaluation focuses on the ability of students to meet course learning objectives. Consequently, students should be graded for their learning, not their service.

When evaluating students, consider the following strategies.

Integrate your grading. Grades shouldn’t be separated into “service” or “learning” grades. When service is fully incorporated into the coursework, it should be difficult to parse out the grade value associated with each.

Avoid vague guidelines. Full integration of service-learning into academic coursework can create grey areas. Despite this, your grading rubric should be precise. In fact, because service-learning departs from the kinds of traditional assignments students expect, you should supply clear and precise grading criteria, especially for assignments that ask students to draw upon their service experiences.

Hold students accountable. If students do not participate fully in service-learning assignments, learning will be compromised. Consequently, the grading rubric should create accountability for the performance of service-learning responsibilities.

Be flexible. You may or may not choose to grade students for group meetings, communication with the partner organization, and other aspects of project-based service-learning assignments. Regardless of your choice, student progress will be demonstrated in the quality of the final project.

Reflect on your criteria. Evaluations should measure the student’s ability to deepen his or her grasp of course content through service. Ask yourself how students in your class will demonstrate and earn credit for the connections they’ve made between service and course content.

Set standards in advance. The more structured, specific, and concrete the grading rubric, the better.

Provide examples. Samples of past student work will help students understand what merits a high grade.

Components of the final grade

Major assignments. Whenever possible, papers, presentations, and test questions should provide students the opportunity to connect their service experiences to the course content. This requirement should be written into the criteria for each assignment.

Supporting reflection assignments. Blogs, reflection papers, and class discussions should rely on guided questions that compel students to think critically about their service and its connections to course content.

Additional feedback. Since faculty members cannot monitor all aspects of the service-learning experience, data from a survey of your community partners, such as this sample Service-Learning Community Partner Evaluation, can be helpful. Feedback from service-learning teaching assistants can also provide valuable insight into student performance. Student self-evaluation or peer evaluation may also be used. Feedback may address the following questions.

• Is the student serving consistently and exhibiting professional behavior?
• Is the student taking initiative and seizing upon opportunities to learn through service?
• If the student has not fulfilled service requirements, could the student have done more to make the best of the situation, or were there circumstances beyond the student’s control?

Compliance with the service-learning process. Points can be awarded or taken away based on logistical requirements.

• Handing in forms on time.
• Communicating with relevant parties such as faculty, the teaching assistant, and the partner organization.
• Completing timesheets and submitting them to faculty with the appropriate supervisor signatures (if applicable).
• Completing a survey, such as this sample Service-Learning Student Evaluation at the end of the semester.

These requirements are important to the smooth functioning of the service-learning experience and should be treated like all other course assignments.