The decision of higher education institutions to grade student performance with whole letters or with pluses and minuses has many factors. In particular, student and faculty opinions on this choice require further study. Faculty at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) recently investigated recent opinions by reviewing literature and…

Grading practices can send a powerful message to students about course expectations. A study by Henderson et al. ("American Journal of Physics" 72:164-169, 2004) in physics education has identified a misalignment between what college instructors say they value and their actual scoring of quantitative student solutions. This work identified three…

This is a case study of how a capstone course, Producing and Directing, evolved into a service-learning course designed to provide graduating students with real-world workplace experience. It will examine issues including course structure, grading issues, course and client logistics, unaddressed skill sets, group work, and work-product quality…

This article presents the original model of the computer adaptive testing and grade formation, based on scientifically recognized theories. The base of the model is a personalized algorithm for selection of questions depending on the accuracy of the answer to the previous question. The test is divided into three basic levels of difficulty, and the…

ABET requires that engineering programs demonstrate continuous assessment and continuous improvement in order to be accredited. Central to the process is establishing and assessing measurable "student outcomes" that reflect whether the goals and objectives of the program are being met. This paper examines effective strategies for…

This issue brief is the first in a series produced by the Center on Innovations in Learning's League of Innovators. The series will describe, discuss, and analyze policies and practices that enable personalization in education. Topics should be of particular interest to state education agencies and district and school personnel. This first issue…

This paper will give a step-by-step demonstration on how to create MP4 files to video-grade undergraduate writing assignments. The process of using prepared rubrics to guide video and audio feedback will be presented and examples shown. This assessment method provides students with personalized video-feedback as a re-usable learning object. The…

Based on its research and review of fundamental changes in quality assurance in higher education in India, in 2006 World Education Services (WES) revised its assessment of selected the three-year Bachelor's degree awarded by Indian universities. This policy takes into account specific criteria regarding institutional standing and student…

As writing has assumed increasing importance in discussions of pedagogy for diverse classrooms, attention to the contexts in which secondary teachers develop and implement writing instruction for adolescent English language learners (ELLs) is of great importance. Drawing on ecological language learning theories and situated teacher learning theory…

This paper argues that school grades cannot be interpreted solely as a reward for a given school performance, since they also reflect teachers' assessments of pupils. A teacher's evaluation of a pupil's performance, as reflected in the grade awarded, might influence the effort that the pupil invests in learning. Grades might therefore serve as…

The article challenges the conventional formats applied by business and professional education in higher academic institutions in Oman. The shift from the current traditional educational paradigm to more effective and engaging approaches to instruction is proposed through the launch of an alternative teaching/learning model which aims at preparing…

Counter to narratives of persistently failed school reform, we argue that reforms sometimes succeed and seek to understand why. Drawing on examples from the founding of public schools to the present, we find that successful system-wide reforms addressed problems that teachers thought they had by being consistent with prevailing norms and values,…

Grading is often seen as a point of conflict with students and, in upper elementary and beyond, with parents. It is a chore that consumes time and saps critical levels of energy better used for creative planning and preparation and face-to-face interactions with students. Grading is sometimes referred to as a "necessary evil," yet many teachers…

Many students exhibit a special type of learning disability in writing. Yet, teachers spend relatively little time helping children and youth with severe writing difficulties overcome their struggles or prevent emerging problems from becoming more severe. A major reason for this lack of attention is that many educators feel overburdened by the…

This quasi-experimental study reports on the effectiveness of three assessment strategies for students' performance. The primary goal was to determine whether there are any improvements in students' conceptual learning when a frequent (weekly) quiz is used for grading purposes compared to using midterm and final examinations only. Another goal was…