I can't believe you gave me a B-: Discussion of Grading Problems
and Practices
Wednesday, March 14 (11:45-1:00) Buntrock 142. Mary Titus, English and Women's Studies, Wendy Allen, Romance Languages, John Walters, Chemistry.
Bill McKeachie, who has written extensively about learning and teaching for many years, suggests that if faculty want to spend a lot of time talking with their students about grades, they might consider these suggestions:
- Never give students any idea of what their grades are before
the final exam. The shock of seeing an F will so stun them they'll
be incapable of protest.
- Tell students you really think they deserved a higher mark,
but that you had to conform to department grading policies and
hence had to grade them lower.
- Tell students that grades are really arbitrary, and that you
could have split the Bs from the Cs in many different places.
They'll appreciate the aesthetic value of your choice of a cutting
point. (adapted from Wilbert J McKeachie, Teaching Tips (9th Edition),
Lexington, MA: Heath, 1994, pp. 111-112)
- How do you grade and what do you tell your students? Join this discussion led by three faculty about how they handle the grading questions.
Resources for Grading:
- John Walters' PowerPoint presentation
- Chase, C. and L. Jacobs. (1992) Developing and Using Tests Effectively:
A Guide for Faculty. Jossey-Bass.
- McKeachie, W. J. (1994). "The A B C's of Assigning Grades."
In W. J. McKeachie, Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory
for College and University Teachers (9th ed.) (pp. 101-114). Lexington,
MA: D. C. Heath.
- Walvoord, B., & Anderson, V. (1998). Effective Grading:
A Tool for Learning and Assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Wiggins, G. (1993) Assessing Student Performance: Exploring
the Purpose and Limits of Testing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
