The author provides a personal account of the actions taken by several teachers at Naperville High School to individualize a traditional Freshman English course through learning modules and a credit/no credit grading system. (Editor/SJL)

The grading orientation of college faculty who assign high grades focuses on the individual student rather than the comparative aspects of grading. (JD)

Contending that present measures of student gains resulting from changed teaching methods are ineffective, the author proposes on "automated examining machine" that would enable students to monitor their own progress. This system would allow teachers to become friendly consultants instead of bosses or judges. (Author/WB)

Presents a flexible plan for scoring straight-copy timed typewriting in any typing class, secondary or postsecondary, which is particularly useful for classes where the students have varied backgrounds in typing. (MF)

The harm done to slower pupils by an elementary school life of Ds and Fs may forever deprive them of the substantial affective gains possible in mark-free elementary schools. (Author/IRT)

A teacher describes her method for putting students in small groups so that optimum learning takes place. (MK)

College juniors (N=28) tested two versions of the Marshall Flotation Technique to obtain consistency of descriptive comments in rating themes compared with number and letter grades. High reliability estimates for all four pre and post-test groups and a significant decline from pre to post groups in number of comments resulted. (Author)

The other inflation is grade inflation, the label affixed to the indisputable rise in the grade-point averages of undergraduates at public and private, elite and community colleges and universities across the country. The effects of grade inflation upon academic performance were assessed. (Author/RK)

A former principal of a nongraded elementary school discusses the nongraded, multiage philosophy, effects of multiage grouping, prevalent misconceptions, and suggestions from practice. Critics often mistakenly characterize multiage classrooms as homogeneous, unstructured, and team-taught; appropriate for kindergarten and primary children only;…

Suggests two ways to make grading of writing easier, fairer, more helpful to students: first, using minimal grades or fewer levels of quality, and, second, using criteria that spell out the features of good writing sought in the assignment. Discusses minimal grading techniques in contexts of low-stakes writing, high-stakes writing, the final…

University faculty and students completed surveys about their perceptions of the construct of grades and communication experiences related to grades. Results indicated that they differed in three areas: the importance and impact of grades on students' present and future, processes by which grades are determined, and bases for questioning the…

Neglected or abused/neglected children (N=420) were compared with matched, nonmal-treated children on measures of school performance. Differences between the sexes in timing of academic difficulties was found for both math and English. Grades of neglected and abused/neglected students paralleled that of nonmal-treated students but were lower at…

A review of British Columbia (Canada) Education Ministry documents and published research literature examined theory and practice regarding grading of special needs students undertaking modified programs. A lack of equity in reporting progress for these students was found despite professional consensus that students with special needs should be…

Dissatisfied with the mismatch between letter grades and their new (state-mandated) curricular emphases, the Tucson (Arizona) Public Schools began experimenting with rubric descriptions of student progress. The prototype progress report assesses students in two general categories: learner qualities and content areas. Frequent communication with…

This article attempts to introduce parents of gifted students to the basics of performance-based assessment, authentic assessment, and portfolio assessment. A list of suggested questions is provided for parents to ask educators in the areas of alternative assessment measures, evaluation criteria, grading guidelines, and other problematic issues.…