Teachers' classroom grading and assessment practices are important elements of assessment reform. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of classroom learning factors such as class size, subject area, and school size on teachers' classroom assessment practices. The results of a survey of 513 high school teachers showed evidence that…

This article illustrates the sometimes unproductive tensions between community engagement goals in teaching writing and academic trends and institutional structures that influence grading practices and the language of authorship. To broaden instructors' understandings of possibilities for the relatively peaceful coexistence of individual and…

In this paper, we present two new methods for evaluating students' answerscripts based on the similarity measure between vague sets. The vague marks awarded to the answers in the students' answerscripts are represented by vague sets, where each element u[subscript i] in the universe of discourse U belonging to a vague set is represented by a…

Barbour recounts his experience as a teacher of religious studies to students whose political and social stances are related to conservative religious views. Differentiating between students who are thoughtful participants or silent observers and those who stridently label the academic community as liberally-biased, Barbour describes his…

In February and March 1979, students, faculty, and staff at South Oklahoma City Junior College were surveyed to determine their feelings toward the change from a one-mark grading system (M for mastery of the subject) to a three-mark system (MH for mastery with honors, M for mastery, and CR for credit). Of the student sample, 53.8% (N=574)…

Of the many issues facing higher education, perhaps none has been more frequently and hotly debated by college administrators, instructors, and students, than the issue of college grading purposes and practices. Regretably, much of the research to date has been poorly done and hence has led to few changes. The purpose of this research was to…

A study conducted at Alma College to determine how and why grade inflation occurred is discussed. Grade inflation is seen as being caused by many factors including calendar changes, requirement reductions, better defined grading scales, and shifts in faculty attitudes. (MLW)

This essay responds to Jane Danielewicz's and Peter Elbow's recent piece on contract grading in "College Composition and Communication" (December 2009). I discuss the similarities of their approach to my own contract process, finding that we share a quantitative/performative method for grading. I also explore our differences. While they guarantee…

Multiple intelligences, with its hypothesis and implementation, have ascended to a prominent status among the many instructional methodologies. Meanwhile, pedagogical theories and concepts are in need of more alternative and interactive assessments to prove their prevalence (Kinugasa, Yamashita, Hayashi, Tominaga, & Yamasaki, 2005). In general,…

Recently, more and more researchers have been exploring uses of mobile technology that support new instructional strategies. Based on research findings related to peer and self assessment, this study developed a Mobile Assessment Participation System (MAPS) using Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) as the platform. In addition, the study proposes…

In 2005, the undergraduate advisory committee at the University of Toronto Mississauga found that across all disciplines, writing proficiency was the skill weakness that generated the greatest concern. Students reported that they often found writing tasks intimidating, and suggested that effective feedback and guidance would improve their writing.…

Reader-friendly and practical, Rigor is NOT a Four-Letter Word is filled with tools you can use every day to raise the level of rigor in your classroom. These strategies can be incorporated immediately across content areas, grades, and subjects. Barbara Blackburn clearly defines what rigor is and how individual teachers can provide challenging…

It has been reported that students learn best when they use a wide variety of techniques to understand the information of the discipline, be it visual, auditory, discussion with others, metacognition, hands-on activities, or writing about the subject. We report in this article the use of academic journals not only as an aid for students to learn…

The effect of using zeros in grading students is reviewed, focusing on the inordinate weight given to zeros due to unequal intervals. Several approaches are suggested as practical solutions that balance the statistical properties inherent in averaging unequal grade intervals with the teacher's desire to use zeros for academic work. These include…

The use of the stanine scale to control some of the sources of error in converting letter grades to a numerical scale before they can be added or averaged is described. (Author/RK)