Excelsior College, located in Albany, New York, has been a pioneer institution in distance learning. The Integrated Technology Assessment (ITA) is one particularly unique dimension of student assessment offered by the School of Business and Technology at the College. This portfolio-based assessment method is a capstone experience for the BS…

There is much discussion about whether online instruction is as effective as face-to-face instruction. To address this question, a comparative study was made of two sections of an MBA organizational theory course, one taught online and the other face-to-face. The content covered by both sections was the same with similar assignments and a common…

Critical thinking is an important outcome of a college education. Assessment techniques that require students to demonstrate their understanding of course concepts are referred to as authentic assessment and promote the development of critical thinking. Little research exists on the types of assessment and grading practices utilized by community…

This action study investigated the effects of a textbook and gender upon the acquisition of exceptionalities content knowledge in an undergraduate teacher education course. In a course where teacher education content, tests and testing procedures, and grading procedures for assignments were held constant across three teaching conditions, the…

This article is an analysis of Pass/Fail grades in an attempt to help students, college counselors, admissions personnel and employers better understand student transcripts by revealing the percentage of grades taken P/F and the relationship of these grades to the students' academic index. (Author/HMV)

Comments and points representing "lore" rather than proven facts are presented in this outline to summarize some of the issues raised by critics and proponents of various methods of grading rather than presenting a summary of research. Pro and con arguments are those typically advanced by proponents or detractors and are not presented as facts.…

The Honors-Pass-Fail (H-P-F) grading system was introduced experimentally in the fall 1971 semester to replace the traditional A-B-C-F grading system in graduate courses in education at Herbert H. Lehman College. The purpose was to determine if H-P-F discriminated more sharply between exceptional and average student achievement than the…

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University implemented a pass-fail grading system two years ago. The procedure in use appears to be working smoothly and suffers little abuse. Aside from physical education, courses taught under this system primarily are taken by seniors. The number of courses elected for pass-fail grading is small: 3.3…

This paper summarizes the author's research on the pass/fail grading system at Washington State University. Specifically, the paper presents (1) a discussion of the use of the pass/fail grading option at WSU and enrollment trends under this option first available in summer 1968 as a 3-year experiment; (2) an analysis of the questionnaire…

It is the recommendation of the Committee on Academic Progress of Students to the Faculty Council at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro that each undergraduate student may elect to be evaluated on a "Pass/Not Pass" scale in 1 course each semester, with a maximum of 8 courses being allowed for the degree. One semester courses are exempt…

This review presents a sample of the literature on pass-fail grading that was written between 1968 and 1971. The review leads to the following conclusions: (1) Students do not take pass-fail courses in order to avoid evaluation, but once having taken them their performance in both those courses and in traditionally graded courses declines; (2)…

A sharp distinction is made between judgemental evaluation of a student and description of students' work and behavior. The author believes that a students' ranking will affect his relationship with the instructor and his performance. (HMD)