Developing An Evaluation System
Enshuring that the material (I.e. homework, labs) properly evaluate the student enough so that the class work grades properly reflect the test grades.
Hi Richard:
Component weights are supposed to put the emphasis on a variety of graded activities and the hope would be that the more important asssignments receive more of the weight.
Rubrics are great for their objectivity and guidenance for students to both understand and strive for achiving the best performance - I underscore your sentiments about the importance.
I think putting in thought, effort and planning in the initial course development can contribute a huge portion of where the appropriate emphasis should be in course work.
Regards, Barry
One of the biggest challenges that I have seen in recent years is the balance of content versus writing/research skills. As more universities place emphasis on the writing, it is becoming a bigger and bigger percentage of the grade in other classes. I teach business courses, and I value good writing for professional development purposes. However, I've also seen some students fail business courses by demonstrating the knowledge in the course but struggling on grammar and writing style. One university I work with finally put a cap on the percent of a grade that could be weighted towards writing ability instead of the course content (obviously, for non-English or non-writing courses). I've tried to implement a more specific rubric for writing. I've also found that if I'm specific about formatting, writing style and grammar being capped at 10-15% of the grade, I can then be intentional about the content learning outcomes too. Hope the sharing helps. Good luck everyone with your teaching!
Hi Darlene:
A couple of ways to approach your grading options. One is the points for individual components, and the other is assessing to what degree did the student learn the material.
At first it seems like these two entities are the same but they are not. Of course we always want to be fair. That said, points are just a way to be objective in assigning a grade. But what does a grade tell you about what the student may or may not have learned?
On the other hand, if a teacher can assess the students knowlege gained from a class, in principle, that's all they'd need for grading. Points and grades are simply a way to be objective and fair to all students. But, we have to appreciate they don't always measure learning.
Regards, Barry
As a new instructor this has been my biggest challenge. I don't want to be too lenient nor too hard. I have asked several senior instructors their methods for grading. I have taken from each of them the parts to formulate my own method. It is however, an ever changing process as I have made changes over the past few modules to try to get it right.
Hi Susan:
Nothing need to be necessarily difficult. I think a system should be fair, consistent, and accurrate as measured against the learning objectives. There are many ways to slice this up, but in the end, we have to have something in place that works for all (teacher, student, institution).
Regards, Barry
I think a beginning instructor has a lot more difficulty withthis than one who has taught classes. By that I mean - we get a better idea of what we want success to look like in our class. Of course, this isn't helpful to those first couple of classes but, if all else fails, we can always be generous.
Hi Caroline:
The easy to manage part can be easy, if some initial work is` put into it. If its electronic, you may need help from your IT guys to set something up. Many publishers will also provide grading software if you use their products.
Fairness is probably best addressed using a grading rubric. This tool provides a pretermined decsion about how a grade will be assigned that both teacher and student use from the first class until completion.
Regards, Barry
The biggest challenge in setting up a grading system is to make it fair and easy to manage. Sometimes time is a constraint and grades have to be maintained. Finding time to maintain your grade book can be challenging.
Hi Pierre:
Good deal - I think you've covered many good points about evaluation and assessment. A more simplistic way to answer this is "Does the assessment measure student learning". We missed the boat if we have an excellent assessment and grading system but the students have not learned the essential course material. Another way to say that is what point is there to points and grades if the students can't perform? Your summary does suggest student learning would be measured.
Regards, Barry
Communication and accountability culture can either set your students for success or failure. Ideal evaluations cover the following structures and guidelines :
Clear definition of the expectations and responsabilities.
Fair and consistent system to measure the quality and quantity done.
Strong training program.
Supervision of all performances.
Hi Kimberly:
This is not a bad idea, if allowed by your institution. I've done it and and students seeem to feel they're treated fairly, even if there is a disputed question.
Regards, Barry
Hi Kimberly:
Often these assessment components align, sometimes not. I just try to be aware that what and how I'm measuring student performance acturally measures student learning.
Regards, Barry
Hi Stacy:
I agree with you. What I do is add in a couple of bonus questions to my tests. If a student receives a perfect score, the bonus isn't needed. If a student misses a question, and then answers a bonus question correctly, the bonus will take the place of the question missed.
Tim has said exactly what I was thinking. The course material, such as the homework, in class assignments, and other graded areas, should match up with the grades the students are making on the tests.
What do you see are the biggest challenges to setting up a grading system?
Hi Leonard:
Every instructor and institution has to come to a best practice with regards to extra credit and attendance counting towards a grade. There are many approaches to consider. Some institutions dictate what shall be. Others give the decision making to the instructor. In the end, we want to be sure the grade equate equitably with the learning that has occured.
Regards, Barry
The biggest challenge in setting up any grading system are those subjective areas such as class participation. Depending on the type of class, a lecture class that meets once a week, I will award one point for attendance and one point if the students actively participates. "Showing up is half the battle." This cummulative 20 points is enough to move a grade from a minus to a plus, enough that it makes a difference, not so much that it punishes those more reserved students in class. Also, apple polishers can't get rich by dominating the classroom discourse.
Extra credit, should be just that - above and beyond. Extra credit can become a slippery slope with students with more free time racking up points.
On the subject of make-up work, wether it be an exam or classwork, I always give a unique assignment to the student looking to catch up. Usually in the form of a paper/presentation or other research project I like to have the students make a presentation to the class. This way they can makeup their class participation score.
Hi Megan:
Yes - equality can mean a lot of things. Fair, accurate, clear, unambiguous, and based on what was taught. If the teacher has done their job, most students should have the opportunity to do well on assessments.
Regards, Barry
Hi Adrian:
Many institutions provide the grading standards to one degree or another. We want to remember is not the points that are important if the student hasn't learned what they were supposed to.
Regards, Barry
