Hi Tom:
In fact, many institutions have gone to pre-made rubrics for each class to take a lot of the guess work out of the equation.
Regards, Barry
One challenge I sometimes face is how different instructors can be so different in their grading in the same school. Students sometimes compare how teachers grade. Some teachers can be so different in their approach. I let the student know the first day what my policy is on grading.
The biggest challenge I see is making sure everything balances itself out. If a project and the summation off all the test ate the same percentage of the final grade, it is important to make certain that one does not over influence the other.
My experiences in coaching instructors show me that two primary problems are faced when setting up a grading system.
1. What is the accepted standard for success in the course, and
2. How can that standard be measured realistically?
The accepted standard can easily be put off by saying it is either a "do it" or "don't do it" situation. The controversy lies in the conflict of what does an employer expect and what can an instructor expect?
On the other hand, the accepted standard must be realistic for the "C" student as well as for the "A".
The answers almost always come back to the particular skill being taught and the part it plays in the total knowledge the student must gain.
That is encouraging for a new instructor. I hope to keep my grading system simple for the students and for myself.
Hi Joshua:
You're correct, it can be difficult to apply a rubric grading system to class participation.
That said, in a general sense, any rubric system can be practically applied, the most important consideration to make when using them is that they are consistent and provided to the students as soon as possible.
Regards, Barry
As a mentor, I find that new instructors often do not see the interaction of the grades. The students should be able to see how the grade is developing but with weighted grades, that is often difficult.
Hi Barabara:
To echo your sentiments, a grading system should be set up and discussed as early as possible (like the first day of class) to avoid misunderstanding, or the potential for students who like to "negotiate" their grade.
Regards, Barry
The biggest challenge I have is how to grade those students who are always absent, tardy, and leave early, but still get their work in on time.
Our grading system is set forth by the college. We as instructors don't have much say so on percentages.
The discussion on Extra Credit has caused me to think about grading in general.
Quite often students will look at the sum of their grades, and then adopt an à la carte approach towards determining what they want from the menu. That is, “I’ll turn in this paper, which is worth 10% of my overall grade, but not this lab assignment, which is worth 5%... then I can skip class on lab day and still get a ‘C'.†It’s when they miscalculate the items that they’ve selected to ‘do’ or ‘not do’ that they generally come looking for extra credit.
So!
Here is my thought, and I will welcome your feedback, what if it was a requirement that 100% of all assignments, exams, etc. had to be completed in order to receive credit for any of them?
For example, let’s say that a student completes 6 out of 10 things that are required to pass the class, which in summary equates to a grade of [say] 77%. Hence, they might expect to pass the class with a high ‘C’.
However, now let’s say that completing 100% of all assignments is worth 50% of a student’s ‘final’ grade. Hence, we ask the question, “Did they complete all of their assignments?†Yes equates to 100% of 50% and no equates to 0% of 50%. Hence, a grade of 77% divided by 2 is now a final grade of 38.5%.
If we want to be less harsh, then we might ask “What ‘percentage’ was completed?†In the above example 60% of the assignments were completed. Since this is weighted as 50% of their overall grade, we would add 77% and 60% for a total of 137% and then divide by 2, giving them a final grade of 68.5%, which still means that they fail the class.
My feeling is that ‘all’ assignments are important, and while I’m not really advocating this approach, it does have some appeal to me as a way to ensure that students don’t blow off assignments.
Hi Thomas:
One thing about setting up a fair grading system is to make sure the students are made aware of whatever system you are using as early as possible so the expectation of them is known.
Regards, Barry
Hi Gerald:
You're right, rubrics can become a cookie cutter style of grading if we're not careful to prevent that from happening.
Regards, Barry
For me, the biggest challenge is making sure that the points are balanced and represent what they students should be retaining when the course is over. I think it can take a few times to get the grading system for a class to be where it really needs to be. The teachers have to ask themselves questions about whether or not too many points were given for homework for example, and was it helpful or not for students.
Standardized rubrics that tie into it.
Hi Ted:
I reccommend two approaches. One is to make sure all of your course objectives are included in the curriculum and that you make sure they covered thouroughly.
Secondly, you want to test only to material you've covered. That doesn't mean you can't ask eassy or critical thinking questions, but remember students aren't mind readers, so make it straightforward and direct.
Weight of different components is always a decision that's needed. A key I use is remembering I want to measure to what degree learning has occurred. So , perhaps, looking at the different couyrse components to decide what best measures what's been learned will guide what weight to put on them.
Good luck. These modules may help give you ideas that will be helpful to you as well.
Regards, Barry
The biggest challenge to setting up a grading system is accuracy and fairness.
Can I accurately asess so many learning styles? If the system is well planned and thought out I think so.
A challenge for my system is to balance it evenly between daily work completed and larger competency assessment. Being in a culinary school the students cook daily and are graded on their daily work but it needs to be balanced such that students are able to see their progress and understand the value of what they are being graded on.
The biggest challenge is the fairness on grading. In the absence of multiple choice or true/ false questions, grading can be very subjective. The instructor must ensure that each paper is counted off in the same manner.
Hi Matthew:
Good points. For me, a good grading system accurately measures the degree to which the student learned. There are many ways to achieve this, but as long as it is fair, consistent, and is aligned with the course and student learning objectives, students will have no reason to object to their grades.
Regards, Barry
