The development of equitable grading systems that provide students with effective feedback and provide instructors with an efficient means of assessment are of deep interest to chemical educators. A recent trend in chemical education, and STEM education more broadly, has been the use of specifications, or specs, grading that emphasizes mastery of…

Concert attendance is often a major determinant of student grades in ensemble classes. Yet, there are reasons to question whether concert night is an effective setting for student assessment. This article probes the usefulness and fairness of concert grades and suggests policies that support equitable learning environments. Strategies for…

Gaps in teacher communication can cause confusion, especially when it comes to grades. To reduce asymmetries of information when grading performance tasks and projects, teachers should seek to honor each student's unique learning trajectory. Here, authors Eric Carbaugh and Kristina Doubet, present five ways to improve communication--and…

Essay exams offer many benefits for instructors who seek to vary their assessment methods and engage students in critical discourse, yet they also pose many challenges and require thoughtful construction and evaluation. The author provides an extensive overview of the literature to illuminate best practices for designing and assessing effective…

Classroom assessments are an opportunity to monitor student learning and in turn inform instructional decisions. Assessments also provide opportunities for students to participate in authentic music-making experiences. Using classroom music-making experiences as assessments may be particularly suitable for students with disabilities. Due to the…

Assessment is vital for a quality physical education program and for students' development toward becoming lifelong movers. The purpose of this article is to explore proficiency-based learning and evidence-based grading as assessment strategies that are both timely and meaningful. This article will first explain proficiency-based learning and…

In this paper, we compare and contrast our experiences in using standards-based grading in different courses and across two separate institutions to explore the related tradeoffs and subtleties in designing and implementing such grading systems, guided by innovation diffusion theory. We summarize our individual courses, use Linda Nilson's criteria…

Relying on teachers' assessments for the information currently provided by standardized test scores would save instructional time, better capture the true abilities of diverse students, and reduce the problem of teaching to the test. A California high school is implementing standards-based reporting, ensuring that teacher-issued grades function as…

This guide is designed to help adult educators and administrators better understand the content of the GED® test. This guide is tailored to each test subject and highlights the test's item types, assessment targets, and guidelines for how items will be scored. This 2016 edition has been updated to include the most recent information about the…

Enough has been written about academic assessment to fill a library, but when one thinks about it, the whole enterprise really amounts to a straightforward two-step dance. Collect information about how students are doing, then share that information with the students and their parents. Gather and report--that's pretty much it. Collecting…

The curriculum is established. Lesson plans are in place. Repertoire has been chosen. A regular rehearsal and performance schedule is underway. Now it is time to start evaluating how much and how well students are learning. Time, in other words, for one of the most essential--and trickiest--parts of the music educator's job: assessment. According…

This article describes ten key assessment practices for advancing student learning that all professors should be familiar with and strategically incorporate in their classrooms and programs. Each practice or concept is explained with examples and guidance for putting it into practice. The ten are: learning outcomes, performance assessments,…

Teachers are smart people, so why does marking reduce them to stressed and soulless messes? Because in their hearts they know that students do not learn from it, and that drives them nuts. Researchers like Lorna Earl and Dylan Wiliam have looked closely at marking systems and have proven what teachers already know deep down: marking student work…

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…

Many physical education teachers experience frustration about student assessment because of issues such as overcrowded classes, scheduling conflicts, extensive record keeping, lack of planning time, or deciding what areas to assess. For these reasons, teachers may base the majority of students' grades simply on participation and behavior. Very…