Analyzed grades for over 8,000 master's students to determine whether or not there were differences in grading patterns between the A, B, C, D, and F grading system and the new plus/minus grading system. Also studied faculty attitudes on the new grading system. Findings included that grade point averages declined slightly, especially in some…

Describes a collaborative exercise used in a labor-force class to help students apply course concepts and learn collaborative skills. Discusses the structure of each of the four group assignments, the group evaluations and grading, and problems with having groups and the solutions. (CMK)

Revisits determinants of college student evaluations in a model allowing for the possibility that (expected) grades are simultaneously determined. Estimates evaluations using both ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares, finding that grades do affect a college instructor's evaluation. Results suggest that instructors can "buy" better…

In view of the current emphasis on teachers' contextual assessment of emergent literacy skills, we need to determine the degree to which such assessments are valid judgments about children's early literacy skill development. One approach to this issue would be to examine closely the relationship between teacher ratings of literacy skills and…

A high school math teacher describes how U.S. schools unwittingly erode student learning by using assessments to emphasize the wrong goals. He claims that students have begun to see school as a "game" in which collecting the most points--seen as "capital" or wealth--leads them to success. Instead, he argues, assessment should…

Grading is one of a teacher's greatest challenges and most important professional responsibilities. However, few teachers have any formal training in grading methods, and most teachers have limited knowledge about the effectiveness of various grading practices. As a consequence, when teachers develop their grading policies, they typically reflect…

This article presents findings of our nationwide study of undergraduate special education student teaching practices. The authors were especially interested in grading systems, assignments, supervision practices, and unique challenges. Results indicated variability in grading systems, use of traditional assignments such as lesson plans, use of…

An instrument was administered to a sample of educators in two suburban school districts in the Midwestern United States. The purpose was to gauge the attitudes toward electronic grade book systems, and to ascertain the relationship between attitude and chronological age, years of teaching experience, years of computer experience, and gender. The…

Assessment has become a powerful tool to change student learning. In a project of the Council of Engineering Courses of the University of Minho, Portugal, students of textile engineering, apparel engineering and industrial electronics increased their participation in every aspect of their assessment process. The traditional exam was changed to…

Feedback is central to the development of effective learning, yet is comparatively underresearched. This article seeks to examine the notion of written feedback on assignments and argue that this feedback process is more complex than is sometimes acknowledged. The author illustrates the problematic nature of assignment feedback by drawing on a…

Background: Grading standards vary widely across undergraduate institutions. If, during the medical school admissions process, GPA is considered without reference to the institution attended, it will disadvantage applicants from undergraduate institutions employing rigorous grading standards. Method: A regression-based GPA institutional equating…

Among the many possible aspects to assessing writing, one of the most problematic is coherence. The problems with marking coherence arise because it is by nature subjective. However, the reasonable probability of several readers reaching a consensus concerning the coherence of a text suggests that it may be possible to assign relatively reliable…

The humanities department of the community college where the author teaches has a long-standing policy regarding the demand for sentence-structure correctness in all the composition courses that they provide. That policy holds students accountable for total control over the rules that govern sentence structure. Any student paragraph or essay that…

While developing strategies to meet the needs of underprepared students, public colleges and universities across the nation are being faced with directives, often stemming from public viewpoint, state legislatures, and/or state governing bodies of higher education systems, to modify existing university programs in an effort to decrease the cost of…

Professors often expect students to have the skills that are necessary to participate in discussions. Students, on the other hand, have been trained to glean information from the lecture format; their prior experiences in discussions are likely to be limited to personal opinions on topics such as stem-cell research or evolution. Sudden changes in…