As a believer in Jesus Christ teaching at a Christian graduate school, I must exercise all my duties in keeping with my faith. Grading is no exception, so here are some thoughts on how as a professor I can grade in a way that honors the Lord.
Clearly I must grade fairly. What I mean by this is that I must treat all students equally in my assessment, not favoring one over another. This is actually harder to do than it might seem. Often as a course progresses I have gotten to know some students better than others. Perhaps our personalities have clicked, or I have had them in some other courses before, so I have gotten to know them better than someone who has taken me for the first time. It is very easy to allow that knowledge to influence the way I grade. I have toyed with the idea of grading assignments blind, not knowing whose they are, to remove this influence, but at this point the logistics of the way we process assignments make that nearly impossible. So I have to approach each assignment as if the student and I have a clean slate with no prior history, good or bad.
I must grade courageously. If something is wrong, I should not shirk from marking it as such. If an assignment deserves to fail, I should not hesitate to assign that grade.
I must also grade graciously. By this I mean that I have a responsibility to correct deficiencies, but I must also show students how to do things right. Every negative comment needs to be accompanied by one which points the student in the right direction. In addition, if students have done well I must tell them that to affirm the skills they have learned or knowledge they have gained.
Finally, I must grade relationally. I must never let grading become the sole way I interact with my students. As believers in Christ, we are part of the same family. I need to grade in this context, recognizing that students are whole people and that we have a relationship that is bigger than that of the teacher and student in the classroom.
Dr. Michael Burer is Assistant Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the assistant project director for the NET Bible and has contributed various studies to the bible.org site. His first book - A New Reader's Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, co-authored with Jeff Miller - was published Fall of 2008. 
Mike,
I just came across your blog and found your perspective a most welcome encouragement in my current grading tasks. If feedback (and when possible quick feedback) is one of the most essential aspects of the whole educational process, then fair, courageous, gracious and relational grading is one of the most important gifts I can give to my students.
Thanks for setting this straight. It is because of my relationship with God through Christ that I listen and endure the times when God corrects me and points me in directions I do not want, and at time, bring discord with other people I love. I didn't always appreciate those who point out weaknesses and then encourage growth. I saw the pain of growth, not the joy of strength that comes from growing. I didn't like it when my coach ran us on endless wind-sprints. I didn't like it when my math teacher, wanted to see corrections on all our mistakes before we move to the next assignment. I didn't like it when my father make me sit down to milk the cow after it swatted me with her tail. I didn't like a lot of things that helped me develop in character, scholarship, and leadership. But, I loved the people who helped me learn, because before they were my teachers, they were people who cared for me and let me know that they did. After I grew up (relative to then, not my potential) I appreciate the relationship AND the lessons. One encourages the other. Let your remark be a reminder that the relationship never ends with the lesson.
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