Criteria for judging performance are traditionally and unproblematically invoked as a resource to be used (1) to make the assessment requirements evident to learners and (2) to provide a tool for rendering teacher judgments consistent, reliable, and fair. This paper explores the use of criteria and standards in the process of teacher judgment of…

College grades play important educational and social roles (Milton, Pollio, and Eison, 1986; Walvoord and Anderson, 1998). What is not well understood are the types of problems that exist in college grading practices. Conversations about grade inflation in higher education are often based on sparse anecdotal evidence and charged with value…

The variety of factors contributing to the quality of handwriting or print provides an opportunity to determine the extent to which teachers are influenced by the interaction between different bias elements during evaluation of examinations. Fifty-three teachers evaluated compositions that had been awarded grades of 80% by impartial experts. A…

Through an examination of one institution's efforts to strengthen teaching and learning on campus, the author makes a strong case for the use of common examinations as a powerful form of assessment as well as a fruitful context for faculty deliberations. Providing a continuing occasion for faculty inquiry and discussion, insuring grade…

This article explores the realities of grading and report cards within the context of standards-based physical education (SBPE). Specific objectives are to (1) identify standards for conducting quality assessments, (2) examine grading issues and concerns, (3) present guidelines for grading in SBPE programs, and (4) exemplify grading and reporting…

The authors examined how instructor attitudes relate to grading behavior using two attitude instruments (ascription of responsibility and approval motivation) and resulting data collected from general education instructors at a midwestern comprehensive university. The results of the research show that approval motivation is significantly related…

Amy Biehl High School (ABHS) is a charter high school located in downtown Albuquerque that serves students from Albuquerque and the surrounding communities. Despite its population's differences in skills, special needs, socioeconomic class, race, culture, and English proficiency, it has one common goal for all its students: that they are able to…

The primary vehicle of this inquiry into the nature of motivation is the case of Phaedrus' Demonstrator. Its setting is a class where grades are withheld from students, and their reactions are noted and analyzed from the instructor's perspective. Effective use of the case is delineated, and options are suggested for carrying its lessons to the…

This study investigated the functions of annotations, the role of annotations in markers' decision-making processes, whether annotations conform to conventions, and whether these vary according to subject area. Across subjects a number of scripts were analysed to survey which annotations are subject specific and which are more general. Twelve…

The purpose of the study was to use multivariate multilevel techniques to investigate whether it was possible to separate different dimensions in grades that relate to subject-matter achievement and to other factors. Data were derived from The Gothenburg Educational Longitudinal Database (GOLD), and the subjects were 99,070 ninth-grade students…

Accounting educators struggle with ways to incorporate the development of critical thinking and communication skills into the curriculum. Case analysis is one tool for developing these skills. We examine whether students' case analysis scores improve as a result of participation in peer grading and peer review. We find that students improve their…

In pursuit of quality education in Bhutan there has been a desire to shift from teacher-dominant class teaching to students taking initiative in their own learning. This paper investigated the issue of moving teaching and learning from teacher-centered classes to independent learning of students. The research was carried out at Samtse College of…

Like the other books in the A-Z series, this book provides practical tools and activities that can be used immediately to improve your practice. This guide offers specific strategies that will help you become a more effective principal. There are 26 chapters in this book, one for each letter of the alphabet. Contents include: (1) Achievement is…

Describes a new system for evaluating the multi-faceted academic-personal-social growth of elementary school students. (RB)

Expresses concern over high school grading philosophies that allow functional illiterates to graduate and attacks the problem of grade inflation in colleges and universities. (GS)