Teacher observation takes on a myriad of forms and serves a multitude of purposes. Within UK further education (FE) colleges, lesson observations play a vital role in monitoring a college's provision for the purpose of its annual self-assessment report; this in turn lays the foundations for its overarching quality improvement strategies. This…

It can be quite alarming (and eye-opening) to see exactly how many of the grades students receive are based on their behaviors rather than their learning. Students should be assessed on what they know and can use rather than on their behavior. The reality, unfortunately, is that the opposite is often the case. Grades for students who work hard are…

Semester assessment of college wind band members is an issue that conductors would probably agree falls within their academic freedom. Institutions may award as little as no credit or even a percentage of a credit for ensemble participation, although the time and effort required of the students and their conductor is undoubtedly equivalent to, or…

Throughout classrooms in the United States there appears to have been a general watering down of academic standards. The percentages of "A" and "B" grades have risen, and at some schools, the percentage of grades of "C" or lower has plummeted. Numerous scholarly articles about grade inflation discuss the extent,…

Describes assessment in the German school system as regular, systematic, and officially controlled through legislation. Emphasizes that even strict grading levels combine criterion and norm referencing because teacher determination must include a subjective element. Concludes that other systems may best learn negative lessons from the German…

Marking strategies used in the Danish school system from the compulsory Folkeskole level through higher education are described, with emphasis on "the 13-Scale." Problems, impacts, recent developments, and trends in marking strategies and the communication of their meaning are discussed. (BS)

Facing the problem of a wide discrepancy in grading standards for student essays, the English department at a Texas community college developed a standardized method of grading students' expository and persuasive essays. The department established a committee of 10 full-time instructors whose objective was to standardize grading for all required…

Discusses the problems of grading an organic laboratory course. Proposes that the grade should be based as: products--30 percent of the grade; notebooks--30 percent of the grade; exams and final report--40 percent of the grade. Gives an exception policy for special considerations. (MVL)

Most freshman composition instructors have to field student inquiries and complaints about grades. Research and thought about alternative methods of evaluation can help lessen this burden. Grading holistically, team and partner grading, and portfolio grading are all effective methods. Often the instructor's evaluation "language" can…

The validity of grades in higher education as a measure of what a student has actually learned has been a concern to both the public and academicians for over three decades. This was one of several issues discussed in a report by the National Institute of Education Study Group on Conditions of Excellence in American Higher Education. Furthermore,…

Entrepreneurship courses commonly use various kinds of group work, cooperative learning, study circles and study teams. A major challenge of this pedagogy is the unbiased grading of group members based on the accountability of individual performances. This paper provides an approach to using student peer assessment to provide feedback on…