Employers indicate their new employees lack the employability skills to be successful in the workplace. These skills are integral to the career and technical education (CTE) curriculum in Ohio. CTE teachers are responsible for grading and assessing student mastery of employability skills. This study examines Ohio CTE teachers' grading and…

This book argues that competency-based practices are the key to creating school systems that meet students' academic needs and prepare students to effectively communicate, collaborate, and self-regulate. With comprehensive coverage of competency-based practices and recommended steps to explore new approaches to instruction and assessment, Marzano…

Homework has been shown to provide positive impacts on student performance at the undergraduate level. Providing an incentive for students to complete homework assignments, however, can be challenging and result in grade inflation or promotion of a mentality where students attempt to collect points rather than use these assignments for feedback…

Everyone uses a traditional five-point grading system to assess students' activities, however, it is not always possible to objectively evaluate students' work using this method. Therefore, the authors use the criteria-based student assessment system in our lessons. The purpose of this article was to compile a model of a system for assessing…

This paper examines how assessment and grading practices have evolved post COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, more programs have begun implementing Competency-Based Education (CBE) in their practice. This article offers suggestions for higher education institutions and faculty considering implementation of CBE in their assessment practices.

The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions of grading policies and practices. A phenomenological study was pursued as the method allows for a deeper, more meaningful investigation into the lived experiences of subjects. In this case, a sample of secondary teachers working for a district that has recently adopted a mastery-based…

When the purpose and meaning of grades is not well-defined by an organization, there is a disconnect between curricular/assessment practices and student engagement. This study sought to investigate origins and find solutions in regards to discerning a student's knowledge and mastery of a subject and how this is reflected in the grade, and how…

Specifications grading is a relatively recent approach to assessing student learning. In this approach, students make progress toward completion of a course by demonstrating mastery of specific skills or material. The assessment tools are short, frequent exercises that can be attempted multiple times until mastered. This contrasts with the…

The present study examined how information about different grading systems affects students' course expectations, particularly in ways that may have downstream consequences for learning and other academic outcomes. In an online experiment using a preregistered design, we prompted two samples of current and recent college students (N = 547) with a…

We present a system for math placement and intervention that pairs ALEKS PPL with an online, standards-based "bridge" course designed to prepare students interested in STEM for PreCalculus. To determine the efficacy of this system we studied ALEKS PPL placement scores, bridge course grades, ALEKS concept mastery percentages, and…

This research explores the intricate interplay between effective grading practices and the cultivation of a growth mindset within secondary education. The study delves into the methodologies employed by educators in determining grades, emphasizing the use of project-based assessments and comprehensive rubrics to ensure fairness and objectivity.…

Grading should be more about the feedback--and less about the score, writes assistant principal Michelle Hope. By focusing attention on the steps toward mastery, teachers can offer students a more complete picture of progress.

Due to a lack of buy-in from multiple stakeholder groups, institutions of higher learning may struggle to reorient their entire course and program offerings to embrace the full breadth of competency-based education. One such way of overcoming these systematic issues to make incremental progress toward competency-based education is to consider…

This mixed-methods study synthesizes Standards-Based Grading (SBG) literature, analyzes 249 Arkansas administrators' survey responses using OLS regressions, and identifies themes through in-vivo coding of qualitative feedback. Results show more SBG support among liberal, elementary-level administrators in larger, economically diverse districts.…

Conventional letter- or number-based grading systems, though ubiquitous at all levels of education, do not optimize the learning experience. The philosophy of "ungrading" includes a variety of approaches that decenter or even remove numeric or letter scoring of student work in favor of descriptive feedback, opportunities for revision,…