Discusses a recent survey on grading practices in legal education, with particular emphasis on clinical instruction. The author believes that pass/fail grading is not adequate for clinical experiences and suggests ways in whichh to implement more precise evaluating methods. (PG)

The article describes a recent survey by a committee of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), which attempted to determine the current attitudes of various private schools toward pass/fail grading. While there have been no concrete results as yet, the committee will continue to gather information. (Author/JB)

A large number of medical schools have discontinued the use of letter and number grades and have adopted pass-fail or honors-pass-fail grading systems. The relationship of academic performance with the selection of first-year residents for a university-based program in internal medicine is examined. (MLW)

Prior research across hundreds for introductory physics courses has demonstrated that traditional physics instruction does not generally lead to students learning physics concepts in a meaningful way, but that interactive-engagement physics courses do sometimes promote a great deal more student learning. In this work I analyze a reform effort in a…

Achieving learning standards is at the forefront of current educational philosophy, and is the goal of sound educational practice. That "all children can learn" and there will be "no child left behind" presume that teaching and assessment practices must benefit all children. Agreement in principle is nearly universal. Practical implementation,…

Communications to college students about the value of their composition are better expressed in words than in letter grades. Research by Sweet and Seidman suggests that free-style, positive comment on student papers produces a markedly improved attitude toward writing. The author's own research reveals that in the presence of positive, free…

The Common Core State (or other rigorous) Standards (CCSS) being implemented by states across the nation are prompting school leaders and teachers to seek ways to move the standards into classroom instruction, assignments and assessments. Schools wanting to ensure that student work meets grade-level standards are using differentiated instructional…

Presents a study to determine what trends were common and what differences could be identified in percentage of degrees granted with honors. Concludes that institutions must either move into a pass-fail approach with no honors, or return to a more dedicated approach to student evaluation. (Author/PG)

Research supported by a National Science Foundation Institutional Grant.

The validity of traditional grading practices is currently under study at Grossmont College. This report was undertaken as a working base for a committee to study the grading policy. Arguments both for and against traditional grading methods are presented in outline form. The arguments are taken from pertinent journal articles or books that are…

Pass-fail grading is discussed from the standpoints of its ineffectiveness as well as its potential. It is believed that pass-fail students are experiencing the same things that they do in their graded courses, and that pass-fail experiments must be based on a model that constitutes a departure from traditional learning and teaching. A programmed…

Cites three objections to an article discouraging a checkmark system of grading, including the fact that at times student work should not be judged on the basis of how completely the ideas were developed and the necessity of having other grades in addition to checkmarks and no checkmarks. (DF)

In the present study the effects on subsequent grades of low, average, and high first exam grades were investigated for 192 students in a traditional grading system and fifty-four students in a pass-fail grading system. (Author)

Study was conducted to compare effects of pass/fail and conventional five point grading systems on student achievement, teaching practices, teaching techniques and student attitudes. The sample consisted of eight sections of chemistry students. Analysis of data indicated lower achievement scores and poorer attitudes of students on pass/fail…