This book provides a provocative look at the issues and controversies surrounding grade inflation, and, more generally, grading practices in American higher education. The contributors confront the issues from a number of different disciplines and varying points of view. Topics explored include empirical evidence for and against the claim that…

In recent years, an increasing number of colleges and universities have been turning away from traditional letter grading systems that limit student grades to A, B, C, D, and F based on the presumption that grading systems with more flexibility are advantageous to both teachers and students. However, as with any rating system, before opting for a…

This paper describes the Generic Automated Marking Environment (GAME) and provides a detailed analysis of its performance in assessing student programming projects and exercises. GAME has been designed to automatically assess programming assignments written in a variety of languages based on the "structure" of the source code and the correctness…

Conscientious marketing faculty spend extensive hours grading student essays and projects. As instructors work on grading papers, they may wonder how effective their comments are. The author explored how students in a marketing principles class reported their use of various grading methods. Students generally preferred rubrics with ratings and…

Analyzing student presentations from three perspectives--expert, peer, and self--provides extended feedback and opportunities to learn. All three of these are helpful and serve different purposes. The expert (teacher) feedback shows how the teacher views student work and often assigns a grade. Peer analysis provides students doing the analysis an…

Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) is an online tool being used to integrate a writing component in classrooms. In an introductory zoology lecture class, the authors found that CPR-assigned scores were significantly higher than instructor-assigned scores on two of three essay assignments. They also found that neither students' technical-writing skills…

An extensive database of exam scores is studied to determine the effects of a grading policy that drops the lowest exam score. We find evidence that some students engage in strategic behavior, either by understudying for one of the exams or missing one altogether, but the vast majority of students show no evidence of strategic behavior. We also…

Scores are the most visible and widely used products of a testing program. The choice of score scale has implications for test specifications, equating, and test reliability and validity, as well as for test interpretation. At the same time, the score scale should be viewed as infrastructure likely to require repair at some point. In this report…

The present study was carried out within a systems analysis and design workshop. In addition to the standard analysis and design tasks, this workshop included practices designed to enhance student capabilities related to non-technical knowledge areas, such as critical thinking, interpersonal and team skills, and business understanding. Each task…

America's colleges and universities have long been the envy of the world. But it would be hard to think of a time when the public has viewed American higher education with greater skepticism. It is a tragedy that colleges and universities are increasingly characterized by their high costs, not their high standards. This fifth edition of…

North Queens Community High School serves approximately 200 students, 16-20 years old, as they strive to reach their personal and academic goals. All students at North Queens have previously been enrolled in high school elsewhere and are over-age and undercredited. Small class sizes, student-centered support, and an accelerated credit acquisition…

Information pertaining to the overall grading standards and practices within the five Peralta Colleges is compiled and analyzed here. The report is presented in three parts. The first part deals with the historical background of traditional and non-punitive grading, the national trends toward innovation and experimentation with various forms of…

Grading on the bulb is a technique based on two major considerations: that the grade given should represent the instructor's estimate of the student's probable success were he to choose a career in that field; and that the grades of D and F are eliminated. Many teachers grade this way; yet the technique has not heretofore had a name. Teachers who…

The benefits and weaknesses of mastery grading and grading on a curve are examined. (DE)