Hi Everyone! There is always a certain element of subjectivity when it comes to the discussion board and students often feel that they may not be getting their due credit. As a student I sometimes felt that my grade should have been higher based on the assignment instructions, but there was "the instructor is always right" philosophy at the university. Ironically, now that I am a student again, I often get myself in trouble for questioning a grade. :) I think the problem is that instructional design has taught me how to quantify even the most softest of the soft sciences in the form of grading rubrics. I guess instructors can make the worst students sometimes. :) But more to the point, rubrics protect both the instructor and the student. They allow for greater communication of knowledge between instructor and student. And provide a demonstrative, qualitative list of how knowledge and the course objectives have been passed from instructor to student and to what degree. In theory this is what grades should do, but grades are too vague, rubrics break it down to exactly what transpired. They also make for great educational diagnostics! Rubrics can help both the instructor and student determine where the student needs the most help. The ABA (or sandwich) method can really help here where we start off with what the student did right, explain what opportunities for improvement there are, and end on a positive note.