> graders are just getting tired/lazy/inattentive the further they get in their stack of papers to grade.
I will admit to this. Initially, my patience and tolerance for errors is significantly higher than towards the end of the grading. By the second hour grading, I am not only mentally exhausted my tolerance is significantly lower.
I try to prevent this by creating very explicit grading rubric and I stick to it as much as possible.
Clear rubrics are the thing where possible. They aren't everywhere though. I've been on conference committees and so many different factors come into play--including how late in the day it is. But, in that case, a bunch of people are rating and commenting and there's no strict order so it probably evens out to a reasonable degree.
I will admit to this. Initially, my patience and tolerance for errors is significantly higher than towards the end of the grading. By the second hour grading, I am not only mentally exhausted my tolerance is significantly lower.
I try to prevent this by creating very explicit grading rubric and I stick to it as much as possible.