There is often little correlation between objective tests of writing or writing components and grading by teachers. The technology that can be applied to student writing evaluation lags behind a reasoned rhetorical explanation of test results. Evaluations of writing are inadequate unless they are interpreted within a rhetorical context that…

In order to determine whether students transcribe the same number of words regardless of the speed of the dictation, dictation tests were administered to students enrolled in beginning Gregg shorthand at the secondary level. Test batteries were administered at three different times throughout the first semester of shorthand instruction. The…

The rationale and uses of a checklist for evaluating essays from a second semester college composition course are described in this paper. The checklist has 23 yes/no items organized by subject: content, organization, and mechanics. A scoring rubric which assigns 30 points to the content items and 10 to each of the others is used to convert…

There are variables in existing grading systems that limit their effectiveness as generalized indicators of academic performance. For example: (1) the multiplicity of grading systems now in use create interpretive dilemmas for educators and students alike; (2) attempts to standardize encounter resistance, which hinders a common approach; (3)…

This report presents the procedure, results and conclusions of a study designed to test the hypothesis that there would be no difference in the number of acceptable laboratory reports submitted by students in a ninth-grade science course under a schedule of continuous reinforcement where the teacher graded every report, as compared to the number…

Research on using a dictaphone for evaluation of student papers was carried out to test the technique's thoroughness, effectiveness, and capability for individualized instruction. Two classes, one an experimental and one a control group, from each of grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 were used, and each student wrote nine papers. The papers of the control…

This study sought to determine whether significant differences exist between successful students and dropouts in terms of mean grade point averages (g.p.a.'s) in each college department, and to ascertain composite course evaluation patterns on an intra- and inter-divisional basis. The students involved in this study were the same as those who were…

This study was designed to investigate the effect of contract grading on the following variables: student performance on a cognitive posttest, final grade received in the course, student attitude toward the course, the amount of assigned reading completed by the students, the amount of time students devoted to the course, and the degree to which…

This paper investigates the relationship between a multifactor grading system and standardized achievement test scores. The study attempts to measure not only achievement but also motivation and rate of progress. Two hypotheses are tested: (1) Teacher measures of application, improvement, and grade level do not bear a significant relationship to…

Recent theories that composition instruction should focus on the writing process rather than on the product have proven valid. A corollary, or a result, of this development has been the growing attacks on grades and grading. While evaluation provides effective instruction, grading is of limited relevance and may be misleading and harmful without…

There has been a great deal of controversy about the value of grades and much of it has been negative. Yet grades perform several valuable functions. They provide the student with a sense of how good his general performance has been and can help him decide whether or not to continue in certain subject areas or, in the larger context, whether to…

This report is the result of a study in the fall of 1971 of equivalency testing in English for entering freshmen in California state colleges. The author argues that equivalency testing must satisfy two conditions: (1) the tests should be college level ones, valid for their stated purposes and properly normed, and (2) the tests should be…

Compares four different scoring systems in a study of 103 subjects answering a 20 item multiple choice test. Three of the four systems uses a weighted response technique, giving credit for partial knowledge. This seemed to have a significant effect on final grades and gave a more accurate grade representation. (MA)

Describes a certain procedure, devised by the instructor, to speed up his grading of homework assignments for a general physics course. (GA)

Describes the combined efforts of a writing specialist and a professor of sociology to develop criteria for grading papers in an introductory sociology class. The endeavor was an attempt to find a less time-consuming and less subjective method of grading papers. (Author/AV)