I grade the quizzes on the same 4-point scale that we use for end-of-semester grades: 4 is an A, 3 is a B, etc. I also use half-points: 3.5 is roughly a B+, 2.5 is a C+, etc. (you can think of them as A- and B- if you’d rather; it’s the number that matters).
For the tests, I grade all the questions on the same 4-point scale.
I grade the pop quizzes based on what you might have gotten from reading the text: I don’t expect you to know everything. That said, terms that I use for pop quizzes are extremely likely to show up on the actual tests, and then I’d expect you to know what we talked about, and what I said in lecture that relates. In other words, I’m nicer on the pop quizzes than I am on the tests.
One common error I see is answering a question based on US history rather than on the global application — talking about Southern US cotton plantations, for example, as if plantations all over the Carribbean and South America were the same.
I grade and comment in green (unless you use green for your test, in which case I’ll find something else). I apologize in advance for my handwriting, which can be difficult to read sometimes when I’m writing quickly or writing small; if you have any question about what I wrote, or what it means, I’ll be happy to explain.
Though I’m writing comments on these, I don’t usually make comments on pop quizzes or tests, so if you have questions about what I didn’t write, I’ll be happy to discuss that, as well.