What to do about past errors or inconsistencies in assignments I graded? I was a grader for my university couple of years ago. I'm also a PhD student. Out of the five semesters I graded..I got a &quot;not fit for rehire&quot; 3 times.
I was not responsive, didn't cater to the needs of the students properly, and occasionally would lose assignments submitted to me. I could not handle the logistics of taking in 100+ assignments(sometimes per week). Most importantly, I was thoroughly inconsistent with grading- I could not follow a proper rubric to the bone. Most often I'd have to make a rubric myself, even in really odd grading situations like having to grade students' notes as either 0 or 1(depending on whether they were relevant to the classroom, etc). I would grade the papers, but often I'd find myself grading differently towards the end of the pile as opposed to when I started grading.
Part of the reason this happened was due to my ADHD+OCD combination of mental disorders, but I am tired of citing that to my professors and also myself. The reason I was fired so many times was not due to Grading incompetence, but because I was late to deadlines, would miss TA meetings, and because of reasons like having to leave town before I could finish grading.
The grading incompetence is something only I know. If I think about how many students got, say, a C+ instead of a B- because of MY negligence and irresponsibility, I start feeling like the worst human being on planet earth.
I have considered confessing to my Professors about this, but have never been brave enough to do it. All my semesters of being a TA are long over, grades collected and put up on the students' transcripts. I have somehow managed to get an RA position but have been struggling very badly since the past year mentally due to all this.
I am posting here because I just want some possible solutions. Do I confess, and get terminated from my PhD-most importantly is it technically possible to roll back grades like that en masse? Should I quit graduate school myself? I don't intend to ever be in academia after I get my degree..but I don't feel like I can take that amount of psychological burden and keep feeling worthy of a PhD. What would you do if you were in a similar situation, hypothetically?
I could not follow a proper rubric to the bone.

That's not unusual.  Following a rubric is indeed difficult, even for people who have had many years of experience in teaching.  And the rubrics supplied by professors to TAs are often not very good.

Most often I'd have to make a rubric myself,

That's a good thing - you found something that helped you get your work done in a more consistent manner.

often I'd find myself grading differently towards the end of the pile as opposed to when I started grading.

This happens to everybody.  It's not desirable, and we try to find ways to avoid it, but a certain amount of inconsistency is inevitable when grading is done by humans.

Do I confess, and get terminated from my PhD

Nothing you've described sounds like cause to terminate a grad student from a PhD program.  TA performance is usually evaluated independently from academic performance, and staying in a graduate program is based on the latter.  The only exceptions I would expect would be something that went beyond poor performance into the realm of blatant dishonesty: taking bribes from students, etc.
If you were to &quot;confess&quot;, I think the likely reaction would be something like &quot;Well yeah, it was clear you weren't doing a very good job as a TA, and that's why we're not hiring you as a TA anymore.  So that's the end of that. Why are we still talking about this?&quot;

is it technically possible to roll back grades like that en masse?

It would depend on your university's rules, but it's probably unlikely.  The standards for changing grades are usually if there was a clerical error (e.g. incorrect addition of scores) or &quot;arbitrary and capricious&quot; grading (e.g. grades that had absolutely nothing to do with the course material).  Just being somewhat inconsistent wouldn't rise to that level.  Moreover, there's usually a limited time period in which this is possible at all - after a year or so, the students' original assignments have usually been discarded and it isn't possible to regrade their work even if one wanted to.

If I think about how many students got,say, a C+ instead of a B- because of MY negligence and irresponsibility, I start feeling like the worst human being on planet earth.

So, a few students have a GPA that's 0.01 points lower than it otherwise would have been.  It's not exactly on par with mass murder.

Should I quit graduate school myself?

I certainly do not see any cause for that.

What would you do if you were in a similar situation,hypothetically?

If I found that I wasn't able to meet the standards of a job, and I didn't feel able or willing to put in the effort to get better - I would try to find a way not to have to do that job anymore.  And that's exactly what you have done, by finding a source of support that doesn't require you to work as a TA.  Again, problem solved.