Knowing that grades can have long-term consequences for students, teachers voice concern about being fair in the grading process. However, their interpretations of fairness are varied and sometimes contradictory. This study looked at how teachers in one standards-based educational system determined secondary students' grades, focusing specifically…

College professors often regard their time in the classroom fulfilling and rewarding; the chance to affect the academic and professional development of their students is most likely a key reason why they chose to be professional educators. Unfortunately, with college courses come college credits, which necessitate a course grade for each student,…

Previous researchers have focused on student sense of control, grading, and academic performance. However, the influence of letting students self-select the percentage weights for graded course components is not clear. In this research students selected the percentage weights distribution for the graded components in the Capstone: Strategic…

The development of advanced writing skills has been neglected in schools of the United States, with even some college graduates lacking the level of ability required in the workplace (National Commission on Writing, 2003, 2004). The core problem, we argue, is an insufficient degree of appropriate task practice distributed throughout the secondary…

Regardless of the discipline, the quest to provide developmentally appropriate learning tasks for all students is a continuous challenge for most teachers. Teachers want and expect all students to be successful; but, in reality, students tend to exit in the same order as they entered--with the most skilled students performing better and getting…

Any assessment primer cautions that course grades are not ordinarily considered outcomes assessments. The rationale for excluding grades as an assessment mechanism uses the following logic: because grades measure a variety of learning outcomes and probably take into account factors like attendance that have nothing to do with evidence of learning,…

School education in Germany is under the responsibility of the federal states and as a consequence average grades differ widely across regions. Since school leavers apply nationwide for admission to university, regional provenance may thus matter a lot for the success probability in the admission process. Using a comprehensive dataset of the…

Learn how to increase rigor so that all students can reach higher levels of learning! With this new edition of a teacher-tested best seller, you get practical ideas for increasing text complexity, providing scaffolding during reading instruction, creating open-ended projects, and much more. The enhanced second edition provides important…

Automated assessment technologies have been used in education for decades (e.g., computerised multiple choice tests). In contrast, Automated Essay Grading (AEG) technologies: have existed for decades; are "good in theory" (e.g., as accurate as humans, temporally and financially efficient, and can enhance formative feedback), and yet; are…

This article details an investigation into the onscreen marking (OSM) of Liberal Studies (LS) in Hong Kong--where paper-based marking (PBM) of public examinations is being phased out and wholly superseded by OSM. The study involved 14 markers who had previously rated Liberal Studies scripts on screen in the 2009 Hong Kong Advanced Level…

We investigate students' negative perceptions about an online peer assessment system for undergraduate writing across the disciplines. Specifically, we consider the nature of students' resistance to peer assessment; what factors influence that resistance; and how students' perceptions impact their revision work. We do this work by first examining…

For many students the first-year composition (FYC) classroom marks the beginning of college. The FYC instructor acts as a leader and a mentor for each student who is unique and approaches learning differently. The question is whether students enter the classroom prepared for the challenge of academic writing with a high sense of self-efficacy and…

Colleges and universities work hard to create environments that encourage student learning, and they develop grading policies, in part, to motivate their students to perform well. Grades provide two kinds of information about a student's abilities and learned knowledge: "internal" information that informs the students themselves about…

Over the last 10 to 15 years, each province and territory in Canada has introduced curriculum based on clearly defined learning goals. They use different labels--for example, "learning outcomes" in Manitoba and Alberta, "expectations" in Ontario--but all are intended to be "standards-based" systems where the focus is…

The characteristics of written comments on assignments as well as the process of writing them were studied. Interviews to three case-study middle school students, observation of lessons and content analysis of their assignments show that features that promote learning are: comments located next to what needs revision must be reviewed; use of…