Grading Systems
I look at my point-based grading system, and I am pretty pleased. The students know very quickly what their letter grades are for each assignment, and I can so them right on my laptop where they are in the class and what they may need for a given grade (both in terms of future available points and in terms of percentage from that point forward). But it's finals week again, and I am once more pondering my system.
What is it that I am attempting to measure here? I can't measure improvement; that's part of the flaw inherent in standardized testing. I can't be measuring raw skill and intelligence; laziness can undo that in a heartbeat. It can't be just hard work; even the most diligent are not always skilled enough.
Of course, the simple answer is that all of these things are being measured, and probably many more (sleep, diet, stress, etc.), and that is probably all true. Still, I wish there were some way to measure each part independently. Yes, the sci-fi short story "Test Day" (which was made into an episode of the new Outer Limits, I believe, though it could have been part of the second iteration of The Twilight Zone) has a solution: give truth serum to the test subjects so they answer truthfully the whole way. Of course, it was also a method by which the government was able to eliminate those who were intelligent enough to threaten it hegemony, but that's a minor detail.
OK, it is late, and I have strayed from my intended path. My point is that while I love my grading system (no, I am not fond of it because I made it—it is derived from others and enhanced by ideas I had when I was a Woodring student, if you must know), I feel there must be a way to improve it. For lower level courses, I like the idea of a firm late policy that still encourages students to complete work. I like rewrites so they can see how changes affect papers and get practice editing. I like focusing on basics when it comes to tests, yet let my students run free when it comes to essay topics. Yet every semester I think I am missing something. Maybe it is the impending version of academic post-partum blues. The weekend after finals usually finds me drained, and I am already feeling the effects. Oh well. I have a final to deliver in about 13 hours, and I need sleep.
posted by Andrew Purvis @ 5:17 AM
5 Comments:
hmmm get out and go to the movies, I think you need....
Iacomus
Maybe I should just watch Finding Forrester, The Emperor's Club, Dead Poets Society, and a couple of other such films. Yeah, that should help.
Yay!!! I knew it would pay to associate with the fringe! Now I just wish we had a (generally) walled-in quad at school. My lack of sleep would make the silly walk look normal.
I, too, am happy, but then I am always sad to go. As an adjunct, I am sad to see my steady paycheck take a six-week hiatus, too. Last night almost made up for much, though, as four students who met in my class waited as each finished the final in turn, then popped off for a drink together. I think that's good, anyway.
Hey!I was thinking that what you are suppose to measure is your students ability to handle new assignments as well as their knowledge. You can't measure exactly the features that drive them to a certain result, but you get a pretty good idea of what they can do. Which is the main point and your job.
On the other hand,knowing the exact procentage of intelligence, skill, hard work, determination that made a certain student get to a certain degree of knowledge would be fun and interesting for you i'm sure.I would hate that one of my teachers would be in possession of such data though.
Good luck with grading finals,unless they're over and you're free to sleep and have fun.
I'm hoping that I'm the fringe to which you're referring!
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