Reviews two recent court decisions involving student discipline and academic grade reductions: "Campbell v. Board of Education" (Connecticut), and "Katzman v. Cumberland Valley School District" (Pennsylvania). The "Katzman" decision states clearly that academic grades should not be affected by activities unrelated to…

Describes a computerized grading system used in a journalism writing laboratory. (FL)

A survey of 588 North Carolina regular educators, special educators, principals, and directors of special education programs indicated that most educators grade mainstreamed handicapped students in a traditional report card format and affirmed the practice of ranking effort, attitude, level of ability, and participation higher in grading than…

Explains how spreadsheet software can be used in the design and grading of academic tests and in assigning grades. Macro programs and menu-driven software are highlighted and an example using IBM PCs and Lotus 1-2-3 software is given. (Author/LRW)

Explores the introduction of grade criteria into the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination as an effort to make clearer the competency and knowledge levels expected of examination candidates in Great Britain. Concludes by exploring problems with this concept and by calling for further clarification of the purpose for this…

Offers techniques to first-year teachers for managing the teaching workload in addition to classroom instruction. Topics include (1) preparing course outlines, (2) developing lesson plans, and (3) grading papers. (CH)

Presents a positive, detailed scheme for evaluating students' papers. Includes an example of student writing with marks from the guide. (HTH)

Contract grading is explained by way of four types of contracts: teacher made/teacher assigned; teacher made/student assigned; student made/teacher assigned; and student made. Also discusses the responsibilities of teacher and student, implementation of a contractual grading program, and program evaluation. (CT)

Advocates the simplification of marking papers by using a list of 10 guide numbers given to students before the writing exercises begin. (DF)

Describes a computerized grading system using mark-sense cards to record experimental data. Gives hardware requirements, provides estimated budget, and lists experiments for which mark-sense cards have been developed and are available. Discusses the grading process and programs. (JM)

Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade learning disabled, gifted, and normal students (N=213) were compared for their conceptualizations, attributions, and attitudes about school grading practices. Significant differences were found in ability to define grading systems and tendencies to perceive the causes for getting good grades as internal and…

Reviews a survey of members of the College Section of the National Council of Teachers of English concerning their use of grading scales in the evaluation of freshman writing. Concludes that the theoretical interest in the scales is apparently not matched by their use by teachers. (FL)

Contending that traditional grading practices victimize the mainstreamed handicapped student, this essay analyzes the uses of grades and recommends a flexible grading system based on the use of grades to assist mainstreamed students to achieve a sense of competence. (MJL)

Having pupils critique their own work is an alternative to marking that is worthy of consideration. Pupil critique fosters in students a willingness to take responsibility for the quality of their work products. (RM)

The competency-based approach is used in teaching educational measurement during a five-week summer session. (SK)