The Grading Process and Student Assessment

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The Grading Process and Student Assessment
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The Goal of Education

• Faculty Perspective
• Student Perspective
• The System has commonly diminished Education to
  an Accumulation of Points game.

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Top 12 Non - Factors on Which to Base Student
Grade Decisions
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12. To Win the Student- Awarded Most
Popular Teacher of the Semester Title

• Grade Distributions have little influence on
  students respect for professors.

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11. To Affirm that the Student is a
Good/Nice Person

• Unlike criminal records, Grades are not meant to
  affirm the quality of people. Sometimes very
  nice people earn poor grades. Extra Credit
  should not be used to inflate the grades
  for good people.

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10. to Protest the Normal Curve

• Although grades should not necessarily be based
  on normative trends, it is not uncommon that they
  fall in patterns that depict normalcy,
  particularly over time. Patterns that have
  minimal spread often indicate problems.

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9. to Fit in With the G.I. (Grade
Inflation) Crowd

• Grade inflation is a national problem. We need
  to recognize this fact and take responsibility
  for our own courses and take a stand for what
  particular grades represent.

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9 (cont.) Who Have Stock in a Standardized Test
Company

• Grade inflation and the unreliability of
  grades ability to discriminate between levels of
  student competency has given rise to
  increasing needs for standardized testing among
  professional organizations.

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8. Grading Papers Interferes With the
Tee-Off Time

• Student Assessment, when done well, is a
  time-consuming and thoughtful process. Using
  time-management and assessment strategies are
  beneficial when embarking on the student
  assessment process.

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7. To Affirm Students Academic Opinions of
Themselves

• Students commonly think they should receive good
  grades for a variety of reasons.
• Extra Credit is often inappropriately used as a
  vehicle to bridge the gap between
  the grade students think they should be awarded
  and what they really have earned.

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6. To Document that Students Worked Hard

• Grades are often inappropriately equated with
  effort. Much effort should result in an A
  grade, some effort should result in at least a
  B grade. Some students will have
  to work harder than others to earn the same
  grade.

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5. To Document that Students Attended Class

• Although students grades should be better when
  they attend class than when they dont, this
  should be because of learning during class time.
  The act of sitting in class does not
  warrant being part of the course grade.

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4. To Document that Students Participated in
Class

• What is Participation?
• Although students grades should be better when
  they participate in class than when they dont,
  the act of going through the motions of a class
  without a meaningful assessment procedure does
  not warrant that act being part of the course
  grade.

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3. To Motivate (Manipulate) Students to Attend
and Participate in Classes

• All-to-often grades are used inappropriately as
  a manipulative tool to get students to class.

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2. To Document Students Potential

• The Heart-Breaker of the education process -
  you know that students have the ability to
  perform better than they do. Grades are based on
  evidence, not on potential evidence. Extra
  Credit is not a vehicle to bridge this
  gap.

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1. To Prove You are a Phenomenal Teacher!

• Not even All of Socrates students graduated
  with Exceptional ratings-)

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• If the Goal of Education is Student Learning,
  Student Assessment must reflect this.
• Student Assessment is Based on Course Objectives
  - Grades represent the degree to which students
  attained those course objectives.

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• IMPLICATIONS
• Every Course Objective/Outcome should be assessed
• Student assessment that is not directly tied to a
  course outcome should be questioned
• Indicators tied to course grades that are not
  directly tied to course outcomes should be
  questioned

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Managing the Assessment Process (AKA
Avoiding the Points Trap)

• Use formative assessments to inform
• Use summative assessments to document achievement

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Managing the Assessment Process (AKA
Avoiding the Points Trap)

• Feedback is most important to formative
  assessment (practice)
• Points are most important to summative assessment
  (the event)
• Clear criteria guide both (use of rubrics)

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Implications

• The degree to which formative assessments
  contribute to the grade should be minimal, if
  any.
• You may, or you may not choose to personally
  assess students formative work
• Assess when you need to make direct decisions for
  feedback
• Do not assess when standardized procedures can
  give students necessary feedback (eg.
  standardized test items, chapter tests)
• Be available to look over work even when you do
  not personally assess it

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Remember

• Students are ultimately responsible for their
  learning
• You are responsible for directing the learning
  process, providing feedback along the way
• Learning is evidenced by summative student
  assessments