The adoption of contract grading for a required pharmacy communication course at Auburn University is discussed. The primary objective of the course was to develop an acceptable level of communication competencies. Traditional approaches of grading were not seen as conducive to mastery learning and motivating students to perform. (Author/MLW)

Marking is described as part of the central examinations for secondary general education in the Netherlands. These consist of two components: an external, and an internal school-based examination. Pedadogical implications of general school assessment practice, plus recent trends, are discussed. (BS)

Reports on an evaluation of a collection of essays about school written by 6,863 German pupils in grades 4 to 13. Results indicate that German pupils experience school as a permanent examination and grading institution, with little relevance to life after school. The majority of students feel that school is not a pleasurable experience. (CH)

Two issues of college grading must be addressed if recommendations to improve teaching/learning are to succeed: GPAs should not be used for purposes of personnel selection, and it must be admitted that tests and grades have powerful influences on how and what students study and learn. (MLW)

Describes system developed at Bennett College for recording grades on a spreadsheet that allows multi-user access for updating student test scores. The interaction between spreadsheets, user-developed statistics programs, and word processing documents is discussed, and a process for using spreadsheet data in a BASIC statistics program is…

A teacher's letter to a student explains what his B grade for the course does and does not represent in terms of the student's achievement or success as a human being or in future accomplishments. (MSE)

Presents results of a survey of course withdrawal policies at two-year colleges in Iowa, focusing on deadlines, grades given for dropped courses, drop initiation procedures, and recent policy changes. Finds that most schools permit students to drop classes late in the term with a nonpunitive grade. Discusses practical implications. (DMM)

Today, because of the problem-solving skills necessary for successful 21st century living, students must be taught higher-order thinking skills. Principles intended to stimulate discussion about the appropriate means for teaching higher-order thinking are examined. (RM)

Examines the responses of 10 veteran teachers to an essay written by an ESL student and concludes that most teachers continue to mark only surface errors, even in ESL essays. (DF)

Two studies examining the effect of grade inflation on the piling up of grades in fewer grade categories and on the reliability of grade point averages found that reliability suffered significantly only in graduate study in which almost all grades were in two categories, A and B. Some other small effects were found in different rating scales. (MSE)

Advocates both summative and formative student evaluation incorporating instructor, peer, and self-evaluation. Presents two examples of the rating format for illustration, and suggests that the key to the feedback depends on the consistency among the sources. Results should contribute to final grades. (JAC)

Essentially a system that rewards students for quantity as well as quality of work, variable credit grading proves in practice to have many side benefits, for example, improving communication with parents, solving problems for counselors, and allowing students more elbow room. (Editor/HD)

The extent and nature of student involvement in the teaching-learning process are a continuing problem. This study shows that the computer can be used to integrate student input into the grade that affects students most, which may help reduce tension in the university. (LBH)

It is hypothesized that the average level of undergraduate grades has been increasing due to a change in grading practices rather than other fundamental factors. Printed sources were searched for the various reasons that have been cited and possible solutions are offered. (LBH)

This paper aims to refute the idea that the best means of helping students learn to write is by "correcting" every error in their writing. The paper provides a guide to an alternative that works and that can relieve teachers of the burden of paper-grading. It hopes that the strategies outlined may make teaching composition "fun and exciting." The…