“My experience with CodeGrade has been fantastic. It was a winner from the start and among a dozen autograders I tried out."

Introducing Jessica Kaufman:

“I teach introductory programming to 8th and 9th graders (ages 13-15) and have been a teacher at Harvard-Westlake for more than twenty-five years. When I first began in ‘93, I taught Pascal, starting ‘98 I switched to C++, and starting ‘02 I switched to Java, which is what I still teach now. These days, I teach about a 100 students each semester, many of whom will continue studying computer science at the upper school and beyond.”

What did your course look like before CodeGrade?

“Before CodeGrade, I posted course materials on Canvas and used their Speedgrader to manually grade students’ programs based on completion. With each student completing one to six programs each lesson, grading was time consuming.”

What were challenges and/or frustrations?‍

“Some challenges were that I could only eyeball students’ code in a cursory manner while circulating around the classroom or using Speedgrader. I had wanted to use an autograder but was concerned it would be difficult to set up. In the midst of the pandemic, I decided to search for an autograder. I wanted to improve my students’ learning and make sure misconceptions are brought to the surface early on. As I browsed through Canvas’ External Apps, I came upon CodeGrade.”

What was your experience with CodeGrade?‍

“My experience with CodeGrade has been fantastic. It was a winner from the start and among a dozen autograders I tried out. I like that their software is continually evolving and able to meet the needs of an ever changing curriculum. CodeGrade assists me in grading all types of programs in real time. It’s as if I have a team of graders working for me. The quick feedback on correctness and style encourages my students to turn in well-written programs.”

“I’m also able to identify students who need support sooner. Java, which is what I currently teach, is just one of many programming languages supported by CodeGrade. Learning to use CodeGrade has also helped me grow professionally. I have learned regex and unit testing, for instance. When I email questions to CodeGrade in the evening, they will typically have already replied back by the time I wake up the next morning.”

How did students like the experience of working with CodeGrade?

“My students like having infinite chances (that’s how I’ve set it up in CodeGrade) to submit, correct, and resubmit. Here are some examples of their anonymous feedback from last semester:”

● “It's a super fast and easy way for us to get our work back minutes, or even seconds, after we submit it, which is much faster than any other class. I really like how fast I can get my work back, and it’s very clear and easy to submit.”

● “It’s easy to use.”

● “I like how it will check your work and tell you which line is incorrect if you got something wrong.”

● “I really like that CodeGrade is simple and easy to use. I just need to submit my code and CodeGrade does the rest of the work.”

● “I find it extremely slick how CodeGrade can check my programs automatically as well as point out if I made a mistake with my programs' functionality, conciseness, etc.”

● “It is simple, easy, and efficient. It is very good at checking code and I like the resubmit ability.”

● “It's quick, easy, and I am able to ascertain my grade as well as which specific aspect of the project I got wrong. Ultimately, given it is used in the appropriate assignments, it makes life far easier for both the student and the teacher.”

How do you experience our customer support?

“CodeGrade’s customer support has consistently exceeded my expectations. They are responsive, hardworking, and take feedback seriously. I was initially unsure about working with a startup nine time zones away from me, but from the day I met CodeGrade’s CEO via Zoom, I knew I could count on CodeGrade. He walked me through how to use CodeGrade and answered my many questions. They have gone above and beyond to promptly address my questions, write custom bash and Python scripts, set up examples, accommodate requests, and listen to ideas. They’re a young, motivated team with a can-do mindset and are continually seeking to improve their already solid product. I feel lucky to be able to work with such an impressive group of people.”

What would you tell a new teacher looking to get started with autograding and CodeGrade?

“I would tell new teachers that it’s a worthwhile investment and to embark on this project at the start of summer. That way, they will have time to set up assignments in advance and hit the ground running once the school year starts. The first days of school were especially exciting because I was able to see CodeGrade in action and enjoy the fruits of my labor. I would also mention that although I chose to go all in before the new school year, teachers can also take a more iterative approach -- starting small, testing, learning, refining, and scaling up as the school year unfolds.”

Documenting Jessica’s journey of adopting CodeGrade:

June 11 & 12: “After my school year ended, I attended a learning summit that underscored the importance of student engagement and frequent, specific feedback and motivated me to search for an autograder”

June 13-14 weekend: “I began researching autograders and found CodeGrade.”

June 15: “First CodeGrade email I received.”

June 16: “Initial face-to-face video chat.”

June 22: “We integrated a tryout version of CodeGrade with Canvas. From the start I knew it was hugely promising because I could picture my students using it. It helped to have a one-on-one tutorial early on, too, in which I was “behind the wheel,” able to record, and thus rewatch. I never felt CodeGrade pressured me with sales tactics to make up my mind. As soon as CodeGrade was integrated with Canvas, I was able to ask a lot of questions and noticed their prompt, sincere replies.”

June 23: “I independently reached out to a California client Steve Richardson as a reference. Even though he teaches community college online with a smaller number of students and didn’t use autotests (at the time), he gave a glowing review of the CodeGrade team that made me confident in them.”

End of June: “I knew I liked the product/people but was trying to figure out how my school would pay for it. Meanwhile, I asked many more questions and felt CodeGrade wrote clear, helpful answers that continued to lead me to believe this product was what I was looking for and that I would receive help right away.”

Mid-July: “I had access to my new Fall courses in Canvas. It took me a month to set up 55+ programming assignments in Intro to Prog I and 35+ programming assignments in Intro to Prog II and test submissions for all.”

End of August: “Finally saw CodeGrade in action with my students”

Mid-January: “Start of the new semester and rewind back to the beginning so it’s ‘take 2’ with CodeGrade. I’m interested in trying out semgrep and leveraging CodeGrade for exams. I’m also interested in creating Python autotests.”