Some teachers justify group grading for cooperative projects using specious arguments that invoke real-world comparison, employment skills, motivation, teacher workload, and credit for teamwork. This article argues that group grades are blatantly unfair, invalidate report cards, undermine motivation, convey the wrong message, violate individual…

Grading should be used to support learning and encourage student success. Under proposed guidelines, teachers should limit the valued attributes to achievement, sample student performance, grade in pencil, relate grading procedures to intended outcomes, crunch numbers carefully, use absolute grading distribution standards, use quality assessment…

Considers the problems with ranking students' written work and some of the benefits of evaluating. Argues that teachers should do less ranking and more evaluation. Discusses the limits of evaluation. Asks teachers to foster a "liking" for their students' writing. (HB)

Comparative grading persists because society continues to value its selective function--allocation of scarce educational and economic resources to the most educable students. There is an unspoken consensus that grades are necessary to motivate students to learn. Educators should tap middle schoolers' internal and inherent motivators instead.…

Discusses the use of grading forms developed to spell out the responsibilities of the editor in chief, page editors, business manager, and photographers. Provides forms to grade news stories and editorials. (RS)

Relates the responses of eight teachers to the question: "How do you involve students in evaluating your teaching and your curriculum, and what have you learned from them?" (PRA)

Gives historical background of the achievement of Ellis Page and his attempt to create a means by which computers could be used for analyzing and evaluating student writings. Provides critical reception of the original studies by Page. Discusses three current computer approaches to the task of evaluating student writing. (HB)

Because of grading's imprecision and the absence of uniform intervals between grades, grades are really ordinal data. Because this is true, best summary of grades is median, not mean. Under this system, many C students are motivated to work harder, since one or two problem areas will not drag them down. Students also have less anxiety and improved…

Only assessment can tell middle school physical education teachers whether their students are learning. The paper offers a list of assessment tools, including structured observations, written tests, student logs and journals, role playing and simulations, reports, and projects. The paper also recommends using rubrics to assess the quality of…

Analysis of percentage grade distributions in 11 subject areas at seven English universities over three years found three types of grade distributions characteristic of specific subject areas: (1) English and History; (2) Biology, Business Studies, Fine Art, French, Law, and Sociology; and (3) Computer Studies and Mathematics. Grade distribution…

Discusses Oklahoma case ("Owasso Independent School District No. 1-001 v. Falvo") wherein the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in February 2002 that peer grading did not violate the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). (PKP)

Peer Review is described as an assessment methodology that allows students to provide input into the assessment procedure through evaluating each others' performance in out-of-class learning activities, with control of the final grade remaining with the teacher. Responses of 51 students illustrate strengths and weaknesses of the approach. (SLD)

It is shown here that a grade distribution scheme commonly used to moderate peer assessments where self assessment is excluded is based on a false premise and will give an erroneous ranking in the situation where the best performer in a student group ranks the second best performer much higher than the other group members. An alternative to…

Issues surround grading for all students, especially those with disabilities, who are at increased risk for grades that are low, inaccurate, and lacking in meaning. Teachers often recognize grading issues and will exercise judgment in making informal adaptations to the regular grading system. When chosen collaboratively and implemented…

A three semester, within instructor, interrupted time series analysis of grading practices was conducted in order to observe the effects of the implementation of a plus minus grading system. Over 260 individual instructor's grades were compared before and after implementation of plus minus grading. The results indicate no overall effect of the…