Grades by percentages/catagories
Our school (culinary) has adopted a four catagory system that weights each catagory by a percent value. Sounds confusing, but actually it's fairly simple and our students really like it. We base it on competencies, professionalism, quizes and attendance each is weighted by a percentage.
We also have cut and dry policies on make-ups, late project work, attendance and tardiness. We do have the option to offer "extra credit" on quizes or "open note books", but it must be available for all students.
For me and the way our program is structured...allowing individual instructors to use their own grading system is frankly quite scary.
Hi Laurie:
It's good to find a balance in the weights and components in a class that accurately reflect a students performance and learning. As you state, sometimes this is a go by the seat of your pants kind of thing until you find that right balance.
Regards, Barry
My school also weighs each area, with areas such as clinical competency(dental hygiene school)weighing heavier than test/quizzes in some courses. This emphasizes what's important in a particular class. I do, unfortunately, find that the areas that don't weigh as much are not given much attention by the students. As we "tweek" the program, we are adjusting as necessary.
Hi Kris:
Many schools use a similar system (mine does), so this does not sound confusing at all. By balancing all comonents with appropriate weights, a students performance can be measured against those teaching points that are more significant than others.
Regards, Barry
