CAGE: A Tool for Code Assessment and Grading

We introduce CAGE, a tool that is implemented as a Java application for reducing manual effort and inconsistent evaluations in grading programming assignments and exams. It provides a graphical user interface to the instructor for navigating through student code submissions that are stored in a folder. The submitted code is automatically split into multiple sections for fine-grained a ssessment a nd partial grading. Grades and feedback messages are inserted as code comments. Frequently used messages and the corresponding grades are listed and they can be inserted with a couple of mouse clicks. Assessment results and feedback can be exported as a file and directly sent to the respective students by e-mail. CAGE is used in the context of a course on data structures and algorithms by a professor and 6 teaching assistants for 2 semesters. The tool can be used after a 30 minutes long training session, and it can reduce the grading time by up to 50%. CAGE is open source and available online to facilitate its widespread use for fair and efficient assessment in introductory programming courses.