Students need to understand assessment processes in order to succeed in higher education. However, recent research has identified how difficult it is for students to become absorbed into the assessment culture of their disciplines, with a recognition that providing written criteria and grade descriptors is not enough to make this tacit…

In the latest decades assessment in education has become a very controversial issue in many western countries, and especially so in the Nordic countries, where the controversy became most passionate in Norway. It was really not a debate about whether or not formal marks should be used in communication of educational outcomes for the individual…

Technology-mediated instruction is changing the educational environment by adding another dimension to teaching and learning. Despite the advances in technology and the way we use technology, little attention has been given to providing technology solutions that help create, conduct, and manage the central task of assessment. Software to manage…

The "Hebrew Online Module" is an authoring and evaluation tool designed for administrating online assignments in Hebrew and English. While similar commercial products are readily available, only a few accommodate right-to-left languages such as Hebrew or Arabic. The module, a standalone tool, complements the class environment by freeing class time…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Florida elementary school administrators believe the state's testing program is taking public schools in the right direction. Questionnaire responses from principals and assistant principals show that the majority of administrators believe the testing program is not taking schools in the right…

This paper reports a recent national study by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education into contemporary practices in student assessment in Australian higher education and the issues of quality assurance facing the sector in the light of public speculation and concern about academic standards. A major issue emerging from the project is the…

This article discusses the basis for assessing and grading students in physical education. Although students should dress appropriately for physical education, be physically active during class time, and improve their fitness (e.g., mile-run time), these items are typically not included in the physical education content standards. The vast…

This article investigates justice judgments concerning grading. In two studies with secondary students (N[subscript 1]=350 academic-track students; N[subscript 2]=225 intermediate [n=81] and academic-track students [n=144]) attending the 7th to the 12th grade level, participants were presented with vignettes describing three different grading…

The idea of literature circles is not new; however, it is hardly adapted in a second language classroom. In Taiwan, using literature circles to teach a second/foreign language is even less seen. The two college teachers-researchers reported their experiences of trying out literature circles in a JFL (Japanese as a Foreign Language) and an EFL…

A study was undertaken at the College of the Canyons, in California, to assess the variation of grades given by mathematics instructors teaching intermediate algebra. A sample was drawn from all instructors who taught Math 070 repeatedly from fall 1990 to fall 1994, resulting in the examination of the grades of at least 200 students from classes…

According to recent research, from Ivy League universities to community colleges only between 10% and 20% of students receive grades lower than a "B-," while the most frequently given grade is an "A." Causes of this grade inflation can be found in students' objections to receiving "D's" and "F's" after paying high tuitions and even the…

Assigning letter grades in a consistent manner to tests in large classes across semesters is problematic if absolute grading standards are used. It may be unreasonable to implement the usual standard-setting approaches recommended for large-scale criterion-referenced testing due to both time constraints and a desire to have criteria that appear…

This paper reports on student responses from a survey examining the impact of an experimental, non-competitive evaluation policy on student learning. The policy, implemented at Stanford University for a course examining cultural differences in career and personnel counseling, encouraged students to engage actively in class, learn from each other,…

Although both the University of California and the California State University systems have the option to use plus or minus grades in student evaluations, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges (CCC) does not allow the use of such a grading system. Since 1985, the CCC's Academic Senate has lobbied the Board to allow local…

This study was designed to investigate the extent to which grade inflation has existed at Brigham Young University (BYU) after accounting for increased preparation levels of entering students over time. Analyses were conducted for the university at large and individual colleges. The study first developed a model to forecast student grade point…