Author looks into the workings of the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board. (Editor/RK)

Analyzes some of the possible causes for the low popularity of high school physics, including tough grading practices, the fact that physics is required more often than it is elected, the practice of teaching physics by lectures, and the lack of a methodology in teaching abstract concepts. (MLH)

The JMB, Syllabus B, O level oral examination in French is commented on by an ex-examiner. Mention is made of ways in which candidates lose marks and of the need for teachers to know more about the marking system. (RM)

The contract system where the student makes his own decision about the grade he desires and then works toward the achievement of that goal is examined. Five pass/fail assignments for a U.S. history course are suggested as possible student tasks. (DE)

A guide to help instructors establish grading policies and practices or review and revise current grading procedures is presented. Advantages/disadvantages of four common comparisons used to determine grades are considered: comparisons with other students, comparisons with established standards, and comparisons based on learning relative to…

Listening is an integral element of the curricular goals of all modern foreign language classrooms because it is: (1) a motivator and facilitator, (2) a reliable predictor of language learning success, and (3) a skill contributing to success in many endeavors in life. A variety of classroom teaching and testing procedures based on listening skills…

A control study involving 26 college students was undertaken to determine reasons why they generally claim to prefer "easy" professors, while contradictory evidence is offered by evaluation research. The subjects were randomly assigned to conditions in which each made anonymous or non-anonymous evaluations of four hypothetical male…

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of handwriting on the grades assigned to essays. Contrary to previous studies, this study employed a grading situation in which teachers holistically evaluated many papers as rapidly as possible simulating real grading conditions. Good handwriting was defined as that done by five experts in the…

A study examined the grading patterns in basic public speaking and communication courses. It was hypothesized that female students would receive higher grades in basic performance and nonperformance communication courses than would male students. The grades for one academic quarter in two nonperformance communication courses and one public…

A test of the ability of computers in grading adults' letter-writing abilities. (CH)

Many teachers use grades as a weapon or a defense--not as the powerful learning tool they can be. A grading system in which students write papers over and over until they are fully acceptable, and in which they earn checkmarks for each piece of work accepted, serves as a powerful motivator. The checkmark system adheres to six primary learning…

This paper describes the use of individualized instruction concepts in courses on structural design in undergraduate engineering programs. Areas covered include the distribution of time, unit packages, laboratory, and grading. Specific features discussed include class discussion, programmed problems, and summary units. Outcomes of such courses…

Suggests two uses for the programmable calculator in the freshman chemistry laboratory: as a means of determining whether or not a student's raw data from a laboratory experiment fall within acceptable tolerance limits; and as a means of checking the reliability of unknowns and grading on quantitative experiments. (MLH)

The present studies were designed to gather data on student preferences for p-f grading and to determine some of the characteristics of students whoprefer one system over another. (Author)