Letters to KOTESOL: 2012 August

International Journal of Quality Assurance in Engineering and Technology Education, 2012

The paper presents a research study on the reasons for mismatch between students' grade expectations and the actual grades they were awarded in the "Ethics" course at an engineering education institution in India. The paper also outlines how this event created the social and political stigmas among the authorities to opt for the re-evaluation of students' answer sheets. After receiving the re-evaluated grade sheet from the re-evaluator, some meager and minor discrepancies were noticed which were liable to question, suspicion, and hence not impeccable. But by overlooking the reasons for trifling discrepancies authorities considered the re-evaluated grade sheet as the final one. In this context, the study examined the reliability and viability of criteria-based grading against norm-based grading model with the plausible impacts of authoritarian intervention in distorting the course instructor's grade sheet, and its implications on quality retention in higher education.

AERJ, 2019

Despite the ubiquity and complexity of grading, there is limited contemporary research on grading students in schools. There is, however, an outpouring of publications and consultants promoting new approaches. Many eliminate effort and behavior scores, remove the zero, adopt a four-point system, advocate rubrics, or promote their own software packages. To study changes in grading, we collected data in two New York high schools undergoing a year-long professional development program on rethinking grading. We not only used existing literature on grading to frame our study but also relied on institutional theory and teacher identity as frameworks. We found that productive teacher change occurred, but it was partial, tentative, contingent on school-wide support, and not without frustration on the part of teachers. KEYWORDS: classroom assessment, school reform, teacher change I don't think any teacher likes grading. It's time consuming. Assessing the work isn't much fun. Developing good lessons and teaching well are a lot more fun.-Gia (A 10th-year visual arts teacher) BRAD OLSEN is a professor of education at. His research and teaching focus on teachers, teaching, and teacher education (with emphases on professional identity and school reform); sociolinguistics; philosophical perspectives on education; and qualitative research methods. His most recent book is

2017

Variations of the question, "How are you doing in school?" are among those most frequently posed by adults to students (Reeves, 2004). Grades represent the primary source of that information; indeed, Olson (1995) called grades "one of the most sacred traditions in American education" (p. 24). There is so much trust in the messages conveyed by grades that they have gone without challenge and are resistant to change (Marzano, 2000). Yet reporting only a single mark for each subject may be insufficient to answer meaningful questions about student progress (Guskey, 2001). Bailey and McTighe (1996) noted that when clear responses to these questions are not available, grading's other purposes cannot be effectively carried out.Marzano (2000) has pointed out that the current grading system in America is over a century old and lacks a body of supporting research. He also noted problems such as the arbitrary weighting of assessments and merging of diverse knowledge and...

The authors review current and past practices of the grade inflation controversy and present ways to return to each institution’s established grading guidelines. Students are graded based on knowledge gathered. Certain faculty members use thorough evaluative methods, such as written and oral presentations, plus examinations. Others may require only midterm and final examinations; these latter are usually insufficient to measure learning/mastery of course objectives. Supporting this study are profiles from select universities: some have undertaken the grade inflation controversy academically; others have been profiled in the news. The model is provided to ensure that degree candidates are academic experts in their field, having earned the credential through rigorous study.

Journal of Pedagogy, 2019

This paper presents two studies examining the interrelation of grading and teacher judgment. Study 1 revealed the structure of teacher judgment two teachers and their classes, based on data from long-term ethnographic research. Through inductive analysis of teacher statements about students, four criteria by which teachers judge their students were identified: performance, aptitude, effort, and communicativeness. Using quantitative data from 639 students and 32 teachers, Study 2 explored the relationship between the criteria for teacher judgment identified in Study 1 and the grade assigned to a particular student. Evaluation questionnaires that teachers completed about their students were used. All four criteria identified in Study 1 positively correlated with the grade, but as the multiple linear regression analysis showed, the final grade was most influenced by the category of performance. However, a teacher’s perception of a student’s performance did not always fully align with t...

Online Submission, 2009

This study explored teachers' views on several decisive issues regarding grading and reporting student learning. Data were gathered through a survey administered to 556 K-12 teachers from a medium-size, Midwest school district with a student population that closely approximates national student demographics. MANOVA analyses revealed few differences among teachers of different subject areas, but striking differences in the perceptions of elementary and secondary teachers. Elementary teachers expressed more progressive perspectives on grading, saw grades primarily as a way to communicate with parents, and more often distinguished achievement from behavior indicators in assigning grades. Secondary teachers based their grading practices on what they perceived would best prepare students for college or the work world, believed that grades helped teachers influence students' effort and behavior, and were committed to the mathematic precision of grade calculations. Possible reasons for these differences are explored and implications for reforms in grading policies and practices are discussed.

International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development

The aim of the study is to identify a moderation method to effectively control and eliminate grade inflation. This retrospective study was undertaken to investigate the end semester outcomes of three consensus moderation processes namely, Group, Peer and Panel moderations implemented over three consecutive semesters. In Group moderation, group of faculty members of the college irrespective of their specialty were involved in moderating the question papers; whereas in Peer to peer moderation the choice of moderator, a subject expert, was by individual faculty members. A three member Panel constituted by the college implemented Panel moderation. Care was taken to ensure security of assessment instruments. A total of 64 courses' results were considered for the purpose of analysis; (19 courses from Spring 2014-15 semester; 20 courses from Fall 2015-16 semester and 25 courses from Spring 2015 16 semester). Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to compare between two groups. The result of Group moderation vs Panel moderation is significant at p = 0.02382. Similarly, the result of Peer to peer moderation vs Panel moderation showed the result is significant at p = 0.56192. Thus, it was shown that Group Moderation results were significantly inflated compared to the other two (p = 0.02382). Panel moderation process appears to give a better distribution of grades compared to the peer moderation processes. However, the Panel moderation has not yielded a satisfactory distribution of grades. Additional measures are required to bring in desired outcome of end semester examination results.

Curriculum in Context, 2019

Educational Leadership Journal of the Department of Supervision and Curriculum Development N E a, 2005

Grades can only be a shiny distraction-unless we make them a strong message. Throughout my career as an educator, I have experienced frustration with how my traditional classroom grading practices have influenced my students' learning. When I discuss this issue with colleagues, parents, and-most important-students, I find that I am not alone in my frustration. Paradoxically, grades detract from students' motivation to learn. It is time to reconsider our classroom grading practices.

2019

This is a preliminary study where it is proposed that giving the students the opportunity to manage their own grading scheme can help with their learning. Conventionally, each instructor creates a grading scheme for their class, assigning certain percentages to each type of assessment they use. Each class has different types of assessment, which can include homework assignments, quizzes, mid-term exams, final exams, projects, and attendance / participation. An instructor may choose to eliminate some of these whereas using and prioritizing others based on class content. However, what is usually not considered is the lack of understanding and consideration of student psychology and characteristics that is associated with standardized assessments. Test anxiety is a known issue, and it is particularly salient with minorities. Similarly, it was also shown that specific minority groups have lower turnout rate with homework submission. Therefore, allowing the students to modify their gradi...