A survey of 12 constituencies (totaling 2,288 respondents) concerning the National Board of Medical Examiners' (NBME) comprehensive Part I and Part II examinations revealed support for more even distribution of fail rates across examinations, support for a fixed standard, and favorable reaction to setting standards based on review of examination…

A study compared evaluations by tutors and independent reviewers of 11 medical students with negative performance evaluations and a control group of 21. Results indicated the grading system did detect specific student problems, but independent reviewers identified more problems and identified them earlier than did tutors. Concern is expressed…

Growing frustration with assessment practices in adapted physical education and confusion with more traditional grading has led to a call for authentic assessment, which measures students' performances in more natural, real-world settings. Within authentic assessment, rubrics provide detailed guidelines for making scoring decisions, offering…

Describes a system of contract grading in an introductory college composition which the author devised and has used for two years, in which all students sign a contract that delineates requirements for a course grade of "B." Discusses these requirements, how students can raise their grade, and student responses. Notes that a continued dialog about…

Setting pass/fail cutoffs that accurately reflect physical ability required for job performance is a key consideration for public-sector employment testing. Top-down ranking is less appropriate than job-performance expectancy banding. (SK)

Discusses several ways in which tape-recorded responses by the instructor to student writing can benefit commuter students. Discusses how the audio cassette responses are paired with a series of questions on the writing process and how the author shapes his tape-recorded comments. Notes student responses about the advantages of this approach. (SR)

About 200 undergraduate classes were evaluated in three consecutive terms with surveys that assessed grades and course workloads. Major features of the covariance structure model developed were that courses giving higher grades were better liked and that courses giving higher grades had lighter workloads, showing effects of instructors' grading…

Presents a study that analyzes four common grading systems used to assess the performance of 159 students in a business statistics course. Indicates that the accuracy of grades increases with the number of grade categories employed. Contains three data tables and 17 references. (JDI)

Explores the effectiveness of an alternative grading scheme for college economics. This method consists of giving frequent homework but only grading one or two problems from each assignment. Initial studies suggest that selective grading has little or no adverse effect on the quality of the students' coursework. (MJP)

Discusses current issues and concerns in grading students with disabilities in inclusive settings and presents a four-step decision model which results in teachers cooperatively determining grading practices for individual students within the context of district policies and guidelines. (DB)

Describes Apex (Assistant for Preparing Exams), a tool for evaluating student essays based on their content. By comparing an essay and the text of a given course on a semantic basis, the system can measure how well the essay matches the text. Various assessments are presented to the student regarding the topic, outline, and coherence of the essay.…

This volume is the fourth in a series for college faculty and advanced graduate students, "Survival Skills for Scholars." It offers practical advice for developing, using, and grading classroom examinations, focusing on traditional multiple-choice and constructed-response tests rather than alternative assessments. (SLD)

Results of the fall 1993 administration of part two of the Medical Council of Canada's Evaluating Examination for 744 candidates provided evidence of the consistency of the pass/fail and cutting score definitions for the objective- structured clinical examination stations used across examiners. These results support the validity of this…

A law school professor analyzed data on pass/fail grading and conventional grading in his legal negotiation class over 11 years to determine statistically significant differences in performance of the two groups of students. Grades for both negotiation simulation exercises and written papers were analyzed. Results showed differences between the…

This article offers guidelines for determining equitable, accountable, and effective grading practices and policies for all students that balance the need for a common set of standards and the individual needs of the students. Purposes of grading, grading systems, and effective instructional practices that support grading processes are discussed.…