Individual readiness assurance tests (iRATs) are frequently graded in team-based learning (TBL) classrooms, with the goal of incentivizing individual pre-class preparation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether shifting to an ungraded iRAT process affects student preparation and learning, as measured using assessment scores, and…

Systems of higher education have been founded in formal grading structures for several decades. However, recent data has shown that traditional letter grades may not be effective for true student learning and engagement. Pedagogical data shows traditional grading formats are not always effective in evaluating learning. Ungrading is a system of…

Enhancing student engagement and achievement in large undergraduate university courses is a vibrant area of research. Many existing studies have demonstrated the capacity of technologically enhanced formal and informal learning spaces to promote learning. However, this literature is dominated by studies that use assessment to incentivise student…

Pre-class preparation is a crucial component of team-based learning (TBL). Lack of preparation hinders both individual learning and team performance during TBL. The purpose of the present study was to explore how the grading of the individual readiness assurance test (iRAT) can affect pre-class preparation, iRAT performance and performance in the…

"Race to the Top"(RTT) asks that states "design and implement rigorous, transparent, and fair evaluation systems for teachers and principals that differentiate effectiveness using multiple rating categories that take into account data on student growth…as a significant factor." In its definition of student growth, RTT makes the…

For English learners reclassifying to fluent English proficient signifies reaching a milestone indicating the ability to function in mainstream classes without support. Employing a longitudinal, multimethod approach, I describe patterns of reclassification using administrative data for 7 cohorts of students over 2 years in a large urban district.…

A study of students who elected to take courses and receive a satisfactory or unsatisfactory (S-U) grade. (IR)

Evaluation and grading are individual and unique components of the formal learning/teaching process. Both acts embrace moral as well as ethical concerns which demand thorough, reflective attention. As teachers, we must admit to the subjectivity of both and use that subjectivity in a positive striving toward fairness. Our concern should be with the…

A study was conducted at Passaic County Community College (PCCC) to investigate the operation of a grading system which utilized an asterisk (*) grade to indicate progress in a course until a letter grade was assigned. The study sought to determine the persistence of students receiving the "*" grade, the incidence of cases of students receiving…

The Electronic Homework assistant system is composed of two components: the Computer Tutor and the Homework Administrator. The Computer Tutor is an intelligent tutoring system that can provide personal assistance like supplying hints, checking errors, providing remediation and prioritizing problems. The Homework Administrator is a teacher's…

Cultural inclusion is more than equal access to learning. It also involves recognizing and valuing the unique cultural capital that students of diverse ethnicity bring to the learning environment. Native American students in reservation schools have experiences that differ from the mainstream, experiences that are rarely reflected in text material…

This study examined factors that affect student learning and growth in four student populations: seniors who began as freshmen immediately after high school, students who transferred from two-year colleges, students who transferred from four-year colleges, and students who entered Bachelor of Arts programs after military service or work. The data…

Not since the development of the objective paper and pencil test early in the century has an assessment method hit the American educational scene with such force as has performance assessment methodology in the 1990s. Performance assessment relies on teacher observation and professional judgment to draw inferences about student achievement.…

Educational Assessment is at the cornerstone of education in the 1990s. Advocates for alternative assessment believe that the new tasks should be redesigned to more closely resemble real learning tasks. Portfolio assessment encourages an integration between assessment and instruction and results in several positive educational outcomes. Portfolios…