Assignment Presentation Report Introduction Measurement N Evaluation

7/29/2019 Assignment Presentation Report Introduction Measurement N Evaluation

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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

PENGENALAN PENGUKURAN DAN PENILAIAN

(MPF 1213)

ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE AND GRADING & REPORTING REPORT

NOR SAHIDAH BINTI MOHAMAD ALI

880522-01-5516

JB MP121197

DR. HAMIMAH BTE ABU NAIM

FALKULTI PENDIDIKAN

SEMESTER 1 SESI 2012/2013

21 DECEMBER 2012


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ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE

What is Assessment?

To many teachers (and students), assessment simply means giving students tests

and assigning them grades. This conception of assessment is not only limited, but

also limiting (see section below on Assessment versus grading). It fails to take into

account both the utility of assessment and its importance in the teaching/learning

process.

In the most general sense, assessmentis the process of making a judgment or

measurement of worth of an entity (e.g., person, process, or program). Educational

assessmentinvolves gathering and evaluating data evolving from planned learningactivities or programs. This form of assessment is often referred to as evaluation(see

section below on Assessment versus Evaluation). Learner assessmentrepresents a

particular type of educational assessment normally conducted by teachers and

designed to serve several related purpose (Brissenden and Slater, n.d.). These

purposed include:

motivating and directing learning

providing feedback to student on their performance

providing feedback on instruction and/or the curriculum

ensuring standards of progression are met

Learner assessment is best conceived as a form of two-way communication in which

feedback on the educational process or product is provided to its key stakeholders

(McAlpine, 2002). Specifically, learner assessment involves communication

to teachers (feedback on teaching); students (feedback on learning);curriculum

designers (feedback on curriculum) and administrators (feedback on use of

resources).


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For teachers and curriculum/course designers, carefully constructed learner

assessment techniques can help determining whether or not the stated goals are

being achieved. According to Brissenden and Slater (n.d.), classroom assessment

can help teachers answer the following specific questions:

To what extent are my students achieving the stated goals?

How should I allocate class time for the current topic?

Can I teach this topic in a more efficient or effective way?

What parts of this course/unit are my students finding most valuable?

How will I change this course/unit the next time I teach it?

Which grades do I assign my students?

For students, learner assessment answers a different set of questions (Brissenden

and Slater, n.d.):

Do I know what my instructor thinks is most important?

Am I mastering the course content?

How can I improve the way I study in this course?

What grade am I earning in this course?

Why Assessment is Important

First and foremost, assessment is important because it drives students

learning (Brissenden and Slater, n.d.). Whether we like it or not, most students tend

to focus their energies on the best or most expeditious way to pass their tests.

Based on this knowledge, we can use our assessment strategies to manipulate the

kinds of learning that takes place. For example, assessment strategies that focus

predominantly on recall of knowledge will likely promote superficial learning. On the

other hand, if we choose assessment strategies that demand critical thinking or


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creative problem-solving, we are likely to realize a higher level of student

performance or achievement. In addition, good assessment can help students

become more effective self-directed learners (Angelo and Cross, 1993).

As indicated above, motivating and directing learning is only one purpose of

assessment. Well-designed assessment strategies also play a critical role in

educational decision-making and are a vital component of ongoing quality

improvement processes at the lesson, course and/or curriculum level.

Types and Approaches to Assessment

Numerous terms are used to describe different types and approaches to learner

assessment. Although somewhat arbitrary, it is useful to these various terms as

representing dichotomous poles (McAlpine, 2002).

Formative Summative

Informal Formal

Continuous Final

Process Product

Divergent Convergent

Formative vs. Summative Assessment

Formative assessment is designed to assist the learning process by providing

feedback to the learner, which can be used to identify strengths and weakness and

hence improve future performance. Formative assessment is most appropriate

where the results are to be used internally by those involved in the learning process

(students, teachers, curriculum developers).


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Summative assessment is used primarily to make decisions for grading or determine

readiness for progression. Typically summative assessment occurs at the end of an

educational activity and is designed to judge the learners overall performance. In

addition to providing the basis for grade assignment, summative assessment is used

to communicate students abilities to external stakeholders, e.g., administrators and

employers.

Informal vs. Formal Assessment

With informal assessment, the judgments are integrated with other tasks, e.g.,

lecturer feedback on the answer to a question or preceptor feedback provided while

performing a bedside procedure. Informal assessment is most often used to provide

formative feedback. As such, it tends to be less threatening and thus less stressful to

the student. However, informal feedback is prone to high subjectivity or bias.

Formal assessment occurs when students are aware that the task that they are

doing is for assessment purposes, e.g., a written examination or OSCE. Most formal

assessments also are summative in nature and thus tend to have greater motivation

impact and are associated with increased stress. Given their role in decision-making,

formal assessments should be held to higher standards of reliability and validity than

informal assessments.

Continuous vs. Final Assessment

Continuous assessment occurs throughout a learning experience (intermittent is

probably a more realistic term). Continuous assessment is most appropriate when

student and/or instructor knowledge of progress or achievement is needed to

determine the subsequent progression or sequence of activities. Continuous

assessment provides both students and teachers with the information needed to

improve teaching and learning in process. Obviously, continuous assessment

involves increased effort for both teacher and student.


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Final (or terminal) assessment is that which takes place only at the end of a learning

activity. It is most appropriate when learning can only be assessed as a complete

whole rather than as constituent parts. Typically, final assessment is used for

summative decision-making. Obviously, due to its timing, final assessment cannot be

used for formative purposes.

Process vs. Product Assessment

Process assessment focuses on the steps or procedures underlying a particular

ability or task, i.e., the cognitive steps in performing a mathematical operation or the

procedure involved in analyzing a blood sample. Because it provides more detailed

information, process assessment is most useful when a student is learning a new

skill and for providing formative feedback to assist in improving performance.

Product assessment focuses on evaluating the result or outcome of a process. Using

the above examples, we would focus on the answer to the math computation or the

accuracy of the blood test results. Product assessment is most appropriate for

documenting proficiency or competency in a given skill, i.e., for summative purposes.

In general, product assessments are easier to create than product assessments,

requiring only a specification of the attributes of the final product.

Divergent vs. Convergent Assessment

Divergent assessments are those for which a range of answers or solutions might be

considered correct. Examples include essay tests, and solutions to the typical types

of indeterminate problems posed in PBL. Divergent assessments tend to be more

authentic and most appropriate in evaluating higher cognitive skills. However, these

types of assessment are often time consuming to evaluate and the resulting

judgments often exhibit poor reliability.

A convergent assessment has only one correct response (per item). Objective test

items are the best example and demonstrate the value of this approach in assessing

knowledge. Obviously, convergent assessments are easier to evaluate or score than

divergent assessments. Unfortunately, this ease of use often leads to their


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widespread application of this approach even when contrary to good assessment

practices. Specifically, the familiarity and ease with which convergent assessment

tools can be applied leads to two common evaluation fallacies: the Fallacy of False

Quantification (the tendency to focus on whats easiest to measure) and the Law of

the Instrument Fallacy (molding the evaluation problem to fit the tool).

Assessment versus Evaluation

Depending on the authority or dictionary consulted, assessment and evaluation may

be treated as synonyms or as distinctly different concepts. As noted above, if a

distinction exists, it probably involves what is being measured and why and how the

measurements are made. In terms of what, it is often said that we assess students

and we evaluate instruction. This distinction derives from the use ofevaluation

research methods to make judgments about the worth of educational activities.

Moreover, it emphasizes an individual focus of assessment, i.e., using information to

help identify a learner's needs and document his or her progress toward meeting

goals.

In terms of why and how the measurements are made, the following table

(Apple & Krumsieg, 1998) compares and contrasts assessment and evaluation onseveral important dimension, some of which were previously defined.

Dimension Assessment Evaluation

Timing Formative Summative

Focus of Measurement Process-Oriented Product-Oriented

Relationship Between

Administrator and

Recipient

Reflective Prescriptive

Findings and Uses Diagnostic Judgmental

Modifiability of Criteria,

Measures

Flexible Fixed

Standards of Absolute Comparative


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Measurement (Individual)

Relation Between

Objects of A/E

Cooperative Competitive

From: Apple, D.K. & Krumsieg. K. (1998). Process education teaching institute

handbook. Pacific Crest

The bottom line? Given the different meaning ascribed to these terms by some

educators, it is probably best that whenever you use these terms, you

make yourdefinitions clear.

Assessment versus Grading

Based on the above discussion, grading grading could be considered a component

of assessment, i.e., a formal, summative, final and product-oriented judgment of

overall quality of worth of a student's performance or achievement in a particular

educational activity, e.g., a course. Generally, grading also employs a comparative

standard of measurement and sets up a competitive relationship between those

receiving the grades. Most proponents of assessment, however, would argue that

grading and assessment are two different things, or at least opposite pole on the

evaluation spectrum. For them, assessment measures student growth and progress

on an individual basis, emphasizing informal, formative, process-oriented reflective

feedback and communication between student and teacher. Ultimately, which

conception you supports probably depends more on your teaching philosophy than

anything else.

Observation Techniques

There are several observation techniques that are used within the schools to record

student performance or behavior. This lesson will describe six such observation

techniques, ways to report the information and the role that the paraeducator can

play in the observation and recording of students' performance and behavior.


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These techniques include:

Frequency

Rate

Duration

Interval Recording

Time Sampling

Anecdotal Records

All of these techniques rely on precisely identifying the behaviors in observableand measurable performance terms (as discussed in the previous lesson) to make

the results meaningful and reliable.

The Paraeducators' Role in Observations

As long as the planning for obaservation has been done by a teacher, anyone that is

able to make accurate observations can perform the actual observation of the

behavior. This can include paraeducators, with training in the observation technique

and also a knowledge of the behavior being observed.

The Observations

When developing an observation period, the teacher will take the following

considerations into account. A paraeducator should be aware of these

considerations in order to make consistent and accurate measurements during the

observation.

Defining the Behavior

The target behavior will need to be defined in a way that it is observable an

measurable to anyone that may be observing that student. It is possible that both the

teacher and the paraeducator could observe the same student at the same time and

note different behaviors. Clearly identifying specific behaviors being observed makes

communicating and interpreting the results of the observation more accurate.


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The teacher should be the one to identify and define the behavior. However, the

paraeducator needs to have a clear understanding of the specific behavior.

Where the Observation is to Take Place

Certain behaviors occur in specific locations thoughout the day. It is up to the

teacher to determine where behaviors are occurring so that the time observations

take place will coincide with the behavior. If a student is kicking other students on the

playground, then observing them in the classroom will not provide an accurate

observation. However, if a student is talking out in class, the classroom would be an

appropriate location. The teacher needs to establish the location in order for the

observer to collect accurate information.

When the Observation is to Take Place

The target behavior will also determine the time of the observation. The teacher

should schedule the observation during a time in which the behavior is likely to occur

and for a length of time that will allow opportunity for the behavior to occur.

What Observation Technique is to be Used

In determining the observation technique to use, the teacher will take into

consideation the specific behavior and the information that they will want to gather

from the observation. A paraeducator will need to have an understanding of these

techniques and practice them before they can use them in an observation.

Observation Techniques

Frequency

Frequency counts are a record of the number of times a specific behavior occurs

within a specific time period. Frequency counts are useful for recording behaviors

which have a clear beginning and ending, are of relatively short duration, and tend to

occur a number of times during the specified time period.

In order to perform a frequency count, the following are required:

a specific time period,

a specific behavior, and


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a method for tallying the number of events.

A tally sheet is usually used to identify the behavior being observed and to

record the the frequency or the number of times which the behavior occurs. Below is

an example of a tally sheet and how the frequency of a behavior might be recorded.

Sample of Frequency Record Form

Student: Billy Smith

Behavior: Leaving seat during science class

Date

Time

Start / Stop

Tally of

Observations

Total

Count

2/14/9710:50

am

11:50

am

xxxxx xxxxx

xxxxx15

Some examples of a frequency count could be the number of math problems

completed on a math worksheet within 15 minutes, the number of times a

preschooler intentially communicates in an hour, the number of times a student

raises their hand during a 10 minute class discussion, and the number of times a

student leaves their seat during science class are all examples of frequency counts.

A frequency count would NOT be used for those behaviors that occur at a

high rate, such as tapping a pencil on a desk, or when the behavior occurs for an

extended period of time, such as when a student sucks their thumb.

Rate

Rate is very similar to frequency. Recording rates of behavior included gather

information on both the frequency of the observed behavior and the length of the

observation time. Rate is the ratio of the number of times a behavior occurs within a

specific time period AND the length of the time period. The ratio is computed by

dividing the number of events by the number minutes, hours, or days that the


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observation occurred. The frequency or number of times a student leaves their seat

during math class may be reported as a rate if the length of the class or the length of

the observation period is known.

The rate of a behavior can also be averaged across a number of observation

period to report an average rate. From a series of observations it may be determined

that a student's average rate of "out of seat" behavior may be twelve times per hour.

For example, if the list contains 20 words and the student requires five

minutes to write the list, the rate would be four words per minute.

An example follows of how one might record "out of seat" behavior as rate.

Sample of Rate Record Form

Student: Billy Smith

Behavior: Leaving seat during science class

DateTime

Start / Stop

Tally of

Observations

Total

Count

2/14/9710:50

am

11:50

am

xxxxx xxxxx

xxxxx15

Rate (count/Length of time) = 15/1 hour = 15 times per

hour

Duration

Recording the duration of a behavior is done by recording the starting and ending

time of a behavior and computing the length of time that the behavior occurs. This

technique is usually used to observe behavior which occur less frequently and

continue for a period of time.


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An example of duration recording could be for a student who has crying

episodes in class. Everytime the student cries in class, you would record the

beginning and ending times, and then calculate the duration of the crying episode. A

few other examples of when duration recording could be used include how long it

takes a student to finish a math assignment, the length of time a student takes

cleaning up, or how long a student spends continuously tapping their pencil on the

desk.

Sample of Duration Record Form

Tally Sheet for Duration of Behavior

Student Name:

Date of

Observation:

Observed

Behavior:

Starting Time:

Ending Time:

Duration:

Interval Recording

Interval recording is a technique that measures whether or not a behavior occurs

within a specific time interval. The total observation time is divided into smaller

intervals, and the observer records whether or not the behavior occurrs within that

interval. By using the interval recording technique, the teacher can get an estimate of

both the frequency and duration of the the behavior. The observer marks only once

whether the behavior occurred at anytime within that interval. Interval recording

requires the observer's undivided attention, since the observation is continuous for a

set period of time.


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An example of interval recording could be for a child who throws their toys

during free-time. If the free-time lasts for 15 minutes, then that time could be broken

into 1 minute intervals. If in the first minute, the child throws the toy the the interval is

marked. If in the next minute, they don't throw a toy then the interval is not marked.

However, if in the third minute, the child throws three different toys, the interval is

only marked once again.

Interval Recording Sheet

Interval Recording

Student Name:

Date of

Observation:

Observed

Behavior:

Starting Time:

Ending Time:

Total Observation

Time

Other examples of when interval recording may be used include, a student who talks

to other students around them during work time, the amount of socializing that a

student does at recess, or if a student is attending to a book during personal reading

time.

Interval recording will work for any behaviors that can be observed, however

there is a strong time demand upon the observer which may make this technique

inappropriate or undesirable to use.


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Time Sampling

Time sampling is similar to interval recording in that the observation time is divided

into intervals, however in time sampling, the behavior is recorded only if it occurs at

the end of the time period. When the specified amount of time has expired, the

observer looks at the student and determines whether or not the behavior is

occurring. In general, this technique is used for behaviors which are longer in

duration.

For example, if the behavior is identified as "being out of seat", the

observation time might be 15 minutes with intervals of 1 minute. The paraeducator

would mark at one minute intervals whether the student being observed was out of

his or her seat.

Sample of Time Sampling Record Form

Since with time sampling the observation is done intermittently, the observer, such

as the teacher or paraeducator, is able to observe a behavior without having to set

an amount of time aside to observe continually. Thus time sampling is a practical

way of getting an estimation of the overall occurrence of a behavior.

Some other examples of behaviors that time sampling can be used with

include, a student reading a book, nail biting, participation in a game during recess,

or working on math assignments.

Time sampling would generally NOT be used with behaviors with a short

duration such as hitting, kicking or spitting. If the behavior does not have a long

enough duration, then it may not be observed at the specified intervals.

The observer may utilize a timer or a tape recorder with beeps to determine when to

record if the behavior is occurring. In a variation of this technique, tapes with random

beeps are sometimes used to record observations at random times during the

observation period. With this variation the observer and the student do not know

ahead of time when the recording will occur.


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Anecdotal Records

Anecdotal records are written notes describing events or incidents that occur. These

notes usually become part of a student's file. Anecdotal records may be used to

document:

a significant event which occurs unexpectedly or infrequently;

the settings or conditions in which a behavior occurred;

the antecedents (what happens before) and the consequences (what happens

after) of a problem behavior; or

a conversation with parents.

If a paraeducator is working with the student at the time of the incident, they

may be asked to assist in completing the anecdotal record.

Effective Anecdotal Records

The purpose of the anecdotal record is to document the event as clearly and

accurately as possible. The following guidelines should be observed when writing the

record:

1. Record observation at the time behavior is observed rather than at a later

time.

2. Utilize a standardized anecdotal record form to record the information to help

insure that all relevant information is included.

3. Record what is actually observed rather than your feelings about the incident.

4. Use performance terms to describe behavior.

5. Be careful about including information about other students (by name) in the

record.

6. Be aware that parents and other professionals will have access to the record.


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What should be included in an anecdotal record?

Anecdotal records are usually recorded on preprinted forms to insure that all relevant

information is included. These anecdotal record usually includes the following:

1. Name of the observer

2. Date of the incident

3. Time when the incident occurred

4. Name of the student involved

5. A description of the incident

6. Location/setting where the incident occurred

7. Notes/Recommendations/Actions taken (be careful here)

8. Signature

Sample Anecdotal Record Form


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Reporting Information

The following are not specific techniques for observing behaviors, however they do

allow the observer to interpret the information that is gathered during the

observation. By calculating the percentage and average, a large amount of

information about the behavior's occurrence can be summarized briefly.

Percentage

Percentage is the ratio of the number of times an event occurs to the number of

possibilities for that event to occur times 100. For example, if we are interested in

determining the percent of math problems a student does correctly while completing

a math worksheet, and the student gets fifteen of twenty items on the sheet correct,then the percentage would be the ratio of the number correct (15) and the number

possible (20) times 100 or 75 percent.

You may be familiar with using percentage in recording academic work, but

percentages are also used with observing behaviors. Following are some of the

observation techniques presented in this lesson, and how a percentage can be

calculated with the information gathered in the observation.

Time Sampling Reported as Percentage

Time sampling a technique which relies on observing behavior at specific intervals

during a predetermined time period. A specific time period such a ten minutes might

be divided into 10 equal intervals of one minute. At the end of each one minute

interval the paraeducator would record whether a specific identified behavior was

occurring. At the end of the ten minute period the number of intervals at which the

behavior was occurring divided by the total number of intervals times 100 will give

the percentage of time that the behavior was occurring. Using the same "being out of

seat" behavior, the paraeducator would mark on a recording sheet at each one

minute interval whether the student being observed was in his/her seat or out of

his/her seat. If the student was out of their seat at six intervals during the ten

observations then it would be determined that the student was "out of seat" 60

percent of the time.


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Percentage may also be determined when observing behaviors of longer duration. If

we observe a student for ten minutes and record whether the behavior is occurring at

each minute, we can compute the percentage of observations (out of a possible ten)

that the behavior occurs. This is discussed further inTime Sampling. Percentage

might be a more effective method for reporting the extent of behaviors which are of a

longer duration, such as writing, thumb-sucking, or crying.

Duration Reported as Percentage

If the observation using a duration technique is done during a specific period of time,

the percentage of time that the behavior occurs may also be computed. All

occurrences and length of time the behavior occurred are recorded. For example, if

the behavior being observed was "being out of seat", the paraeducator could use a

stop watch to measure the number of minutes and seconds during a 30 minute

period in which the student was out of his/her seat. If the number of minutes and

seconds is divided by 30 minutes and taken times 100, the percentage of time that

the student was out of his/her seat can be determined.

Again, recording the percentage requires that the observer record the number of

possible attempts or opportunities divided by the number of times that the studentmeets the criteria. The result is then taken times 100.

Average

Averaging Frequency/Rate

The frequency/rate of behaviors can be averaged across a number of observation

periods to determine the average. For example, if one looks at the student who calls

out without raising their hand during a class for a week, we can calculate an average

rate. If on Monday one tallies 17 times, 5 times on Tuesday, 8 times for Wednesday,

9 times on Thursday, and on Friday one tallies 11 times, then the average frequency

is calculated as follows:

Average Frequency = 17+5+8+9+11 = 50 times total

50 times / 5 observations = an average of 10 times per observation
http://para.unl.edu/legacy/Observation/lesson4.php#TimeSamplinghttp://para.unl.edu/legacy/Observation/lesson4.php#TimeSamplinghttp://para.unl.edu/legacy/Observation/lesson4.php#TimeSampling


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The following form can also be used for recording and computing the average rate of

behavior over a number of observation periods.

Average Rate Calculation Sheet of Behavior

Observations

1 2 3 4 5 Total

Count

Length

Rate

(Count/Length)

Average Rate

Total

Count/Total

Length

Averaging Duration

The duration of behaviors can be averaged across a number of observation periods

to determine the average. For example, if we look at the student who sucks his or

her thumb during school for a day, we can calculate the average duration for the time

they are observed, as follows:

If the student sucks their thumb for 10 minutes, 7 minutes, 4 minutes, 3 minutes,

then one calculates the average duration of thumb sucking as follows:

Average Duration = 10+7+4+3 = 24 minutes total

Divide 24 minutes / 4 individually observed incidences = an average of 6 minutes


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One can summarize that she or he sucks their thumb on the average six minutes at

a time.

Summary

Although the techniques and strategies for recording behavior are not difficult,

carefully developed procedures and practice are essential in gathering accurate

data. The following guidelines may be helpful:

1. Describe as precisely as possible the behavior you are recording before you

begin to record it. Discuss examples of the behavior to make sure that you

have the same understanding of the behavior as the teacher.

2. Prepare the recording technique ahead of time. Make sure you are familiar

with the form and the method for recording.

3. Carefully observe the time limits and time intervals used in recording.

4. Try to prepare so that you need to make the fewest judgments while

recording. Record the behavior every time it occurs, regardless of how much it

occurs. For example, if you are recording how often a student touches other

students, you should record all touches whether they are gentle or hard. If you

can't tell whether a behavior fits the criteria you and the teacher need to

further refine the criteria so that it matches the intent of the observation and is

observable and measurable.


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ANECDOTAL RECORDS

1.1) Def: factual descriptions of the meaningful incidents and events that teacher has

observed in the pupils life.

- Each incident should be written down shortly after it happens.

- The descriptions may be recorded on separate cards like

1.2) The uses of Anecdotal Record:

- Obtaining data pertinent to a variety of learning outcomes and to many aspect

of personal and social development.

1.3) Advantages of Anecdotal Records:

a) they depict actual behavior in natural situations.b) Records of actual behavior provide a check on other evaluation methods and

enable us to determine the extent of change in the pupils typical patterns of

behavior.

c) Enable gathering evidence on event that are exceptional but significant.

d) Makes us more diligent in observation and increase our awareness of such

behaviors.

1.4) Limitations of Anecdotal Records:

a) Time consuming task

b) Difficulty of being objective when observing and reporting pupil behavior.

1.5) Effective Use Of Anecdotal Records:

a) Determine in advance what to observe, but be alert for unusual behavior.

b) Observe and record enough of the situation to make the behavior meaningful.

c) Make a record of the incident as soon after the observation as possible.

d) Limit each anecdote to brief description of a single incident.

e) Keep the factual description of the incident and your interpretation of it

separate.

f) Record both positive and negative behavioral incident.

g) Collect a number of anecdotes on a pupil before drawing inferences

concerning typical behavior.

h) Obtain practice in writing anecdotal records.


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RATING SCALES

2.1) Def: A set of characteristics or qualities to be judged and some type of scale for

indicating the degree to which each attribute is present.

2.2) The Uses:

a) It will direct observation towards specific aspect of behavioral.

b) It will provide a common frame of reference for compairing all pupils on the

same set of characteristics

c) It will provide a convenient method for recording the observers judgements.

2.3) Types of Rating Scales:

a) Numerical rating scales: the simplest types of rating scales which the rater

checks or circle a number to indicate the degree to which a characteristic is

present.

b) Descriptive Graphic Rating Scale: use descriptive phrases to identify the

points on a graphic scale

2.4) The Uses of Rating Scales:

-Rating scales can be used to evaluate a wide variety of learning outcomes andaspects of development. It classified into three areas:

a) Procedure Evaluation

b) Product Evaluation

c) Evaluating Personal Social development

2.5) Common Errors in Rating:

-Certain types of errors occur so often in rating that speacial effort are needed tocounteract them. These errors due to:

a) Personal bias

b) Halo effect

c) Logical error

2.6) Principles of Effective Rating:

a) Characteristics should be educationally significant.

b) Characteristics should be directly observable.


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c) Characteristics and points on the scale should be clearly defined.

d) Between three and seven rating positions should be provided and raters

should be permitted to mark at intermediate points.

e) Raters should be instructed to omit rating when they feel unqualified to judge.

f) Ratings from several observers should be combined whenever possible.

CHECKLIST

3.1) Def: A checklist is similar in appearance rating the scale or on the other hand

calls for a simple yes-no judgements.

3.2) Uses of Checklist:

a) A method of recording whether a characteristic is present or absent orwhether an action was or was not taken.

b) Useful at the primary level such as

c) Useful in evaluating those performance skills that can be divided into a series

of specific action

PEER APPRAISAL

An approach to the problem of studying interpersonal relationships and the

socio-emotional climate of a classroom.

Plays an important role in revealing and evaluating the social structure of the

group

through the measurement of the frequency of acceptance or non-acceptance

among the individuals who constitute the group.

Criteria Of Peer Appraisal

Peer rating (sociometric tests) may be devised for many types of 'groups andsituations.

Main considerations are that each one must be relevant to a specific life

situation of the group.

Each item or question must require each person in the group to make one or

more definite

Selection revealing certain personal preference, rejection or value.

The technique allows analysis of each person's position and status within the

group with respect to a particular criterion.


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How Peer Appraisal Work?

1.Guess who is the best liked boy in the class? Who is the most generous boy? Who

is the most selfish boy? ctc.

2.Select one of your colleagues you would most like as friend or partner in aparticular activity

3.Name the pupil in your class with whom you would most like to sit at lunch; name

second choice, name the two persons in order of preference, etc.

4.Identification of persons possessing certain specified traits such as the opposites -

"talkative - silent", "neat-unkempt".

5.Identification of dominant individuals, cliques, cleavages (sex; racial, economic,

etc.)

6.Patterns of social attraction and rejection.

7.Opinion test through "word pictures".

Peer Appraisal Technique


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"Guess Who? Technique

In Guess Who" technique, respondents are asked to write names against

each question such as :

Name

1. Guess who is the best liked boy in the class

2. Guess who starts the most arguments

3. Guess who is the most cooperative boy in the

class, etc.

4. There is a boy who is

a) tall and witty

b) interested in cricket

c) most regular in class

Guess who is this boy

The simple way to analyse results is to count the number of times each

student's name appears in the blanks. Such findings may be utilized forhelping individual student and understanding the pattern of existing

interpersonal relationships in the group.


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SOCIOGRAM

Peer ratings about students they would most like as friends or partners in

particular activities may be identified through a sociogram.

The obtained results form a set of choices and these are plotted as a diagram(sociogram) showing the pattern of choices.

In the above figure which depicts a sociogram showing choices of work

partners, you will notice student 7 as an isolate being chosen by none of the

students;

Student 10 is especially popular in the group receiving first choice

nominations of four other students.

Students 2,4 and 8 (and also 3.5.9.10) form a close knit clique.

The student liked by most students is known as a 'star'. Here no.10 is a star

as he has maximum first choices.

Sociometry also helps us study the reciprocity of relationships among the

members of the group.

Between no 3 and 10, reciprocity is both sided while for no.1 and 10 it is one-

sided only. Many other such interesting relalions can be seen in the patterns of choices.

Usually, an individual's sociometric score is simply the number of mentions he

receives or percentage of mentions he receives from others in the group.


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PRINCIPLE IN OBTAINING PEER RATING

Rating of variable to be ranked must be simple and directly understandable to

students. Rating should pertain to students world and asked in a very simple

language

Rater must be assured of annonymity that no one in the class will see their

ratings. This will help elicit honest responses and will protect feelings of

students receiving bad ratings. Raters are knowledgeable i.e, have valid

evidence of what they say

SELF REPORT METHOD

Require the respondent to react to item concerning his own behaviour

or characteristics

The items generally require expression regarding likes, dislikes, fears,

hopes, religious beliefs, ideas about sex and many other matters that

reflect the way in which the person copes with his own needs and

demand of his environment.

Commonly used for measuring the traits pertaining to interest,

adjustrnent, attitude and personality etc.

Sometimes a self-report test measures only one trait such as

introversion - extroversion, security - insecurity or high anxiety - low

anxiety.

These can also be developed so as to measure a number of traits

simultaneously. For example Cattell's sixteen Personality Factor

Questionnaire yields 16 different scores.

Self-reporting is obtained through a checklist, questionnaire or a rating

WELL KNOWN SELF-REPORTING INSTRUMENT

Woodworth Personal Datasheet

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Edwards Personal Preference Schedule

Minnesota Teacher Attitude lnventory (MTAI)


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PRECAUTION WHILE USING SELF-REPORTING METHOD

Administering twice to the same individuals after a short interval of time with

rearranged items on second administration

Introducing various 'lie' scales to check deceiving tendency.

EVALUATION THROUGH SELF-REPORT

Sugestions

Use the standardized inventories

Use more than one questionnaire/inventory

Administer twice with changed sequence of items

Insert 'lic' scales

Establish norms for local population

Precautions

Place only due faith in he tools of this type

Do not use the technique for which you are not well trained, e.g. use of

MMPI by teachers is not advisable

Seek the help of trained professionals in administration and

interpretation

QUESTIONNAIRES

A set of written questions which are usually highly structured.

Normally assemble a number of questions which are then posed to a

representative sample of the relevant population.

It can either be highly structured, with fixed alternative responses which can

then be collated and analysed, or more open-ended, with the respondents

able to express themselves in their own words.

WAYS OF ADMINISTERING QUESTIONNAIRES

Face-to-face interviewing

Hand-out questionnaires

Postal questionnaires

Telephone questionnaires


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STRENGTHS

1. Surveys are able to study large samples of people fairly easy.

2. Surveys are able to examine a large number of variables.

3. Survey research can ask people to reveal behaviour and feelings which have

been experienced in real situations.

4. If samples of people are selected at random and are large enough it should

be possible to generalise the results to a larger population.

5. Questionnaire surveys can be carried out relatively cheaply.

WEAKNESS

1. People may not respond truthfully, either because they cannot remember orbecause they wish to present themselves in a socially acceptable manner.

2. We can not establish cause and effect relationships from survey data as other

variables which could have had an effect may not have been considered in

the questionnaire or interview.

3. It may be difficult to obtain a random sample of the population because some

people who are selected refuse to answer questions or it may be difficult to

obtain a full list of the population from which to select a random sample.

PSYCHOMETRICS

Instruments which have been developed for measuring mental characteristics.

Developed to measure a wide range of things, including creativity, job

attitudes and skills, brain damage and, of course, 'intelligence'.

It is usually used to describe specific tests for personality, aptitude,

intelligence or some kind of attitude measurement.

This technique, of course, provides lots of quantitative data which is easy to

analyse statistically.

Psychometric tests are usually easy to administer.

Constructing valid and reliable tests is very difficult.

Tests usually contain culture bias, especially intelligence tests.

Most tests will contain designer bias, in the sense that any test is biased in the

direction of the author's view.


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Most tests make the assumption that characteristics to be measured are fixed

and invariant, both in relation to time and also in relation to circumstance or

situation. Many studies in psychology, especially social psychology,

demonstrate that this is not so.

INTERVIEWS

There are many different ways to conduct an interview, ranging from casual

chats to formal, standardised, set questions which have to be asked in a

particular way.

Clinical interviews are lengthy interviews aimed at a detailed understanding of

a person's mental processes.

There are no set questions; the questions depend on the last answers given.

Interviews conducted in a casual manner provide information that is more

spontaneous and realistic than those obtained in a formal interview.

If we use standardised interviews it is easier to generalise (as long as the

sample is large enough).

Clinical interviews provide insight into the thoughts of individual children or

adults which a standardised format would not allow.

LIMITATION

1. Sampling of subjects is a problem (see section on sampling for more detail).

2. Informal interviews do not allow generalisation. One person may talk about

something so differently from the way that another person does that it

becomes almost impossible to compare what two people said. This applies to

some extent to clinical interviews.

3. In formal interviews, if people feel that they are being asked a set of routine

and automatic questions from a list they often do not talk as freely as theywould in a casual conversation. The interviewer needs to be thoroughly

skilled and trained to make it seem a natural and not an awkward situation.

This means that a formal interview study is quite difficult (and expensive) to

conduct well.

4. A major problem with interviews is demand characteristics. This includes

interviewer biases and response biases. An interviewer may influence the

respondent through, for example, leading questions or subtle reinforcements

of 'right' or 'wrong' answers. Response bias may happen when, for example,

respondents give socially acceptable answers.


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PROS AND CONS OF SELF-REPORT

Advantage

Gives you the respondents views directly

Disadvantage

Validity problems:

Deception (of self or others)

Lack of conscious awareness

Attribution biases


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REFERENCE :

Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A

handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Apple, D.K, & Krumsieg. K. (1998). Process education teaching institute handbook.

Corvalis, OR: Pacific Crest Software.

Brissenden, G., & Slater, T. Assessment primer. In College Level One (CL-1)

Team. Field-tested learning assessment guide. Available athttp://www.flaguide.org.

Linn, R. L. (1995). Measurement and assessment in teaching(7th ed.). Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.

McAlpine, M. (2002). Principles of assessment. Glasgow: University of Glasgow,

Robert Clark Center for Technological Education. Available

at:http://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdf

Wiggins, G. P. (1998). Educative assessment: Designing assessments to inform and

improve student performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Wass, V., Van der Vleuten, J., & Shatzer, R.J. (2001). Assessment of clinical

competence. The Lancet, 357, 945-949.
http://www.flaguide.org/http://www.flaguide.org/http://www.flaguide.org/http://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdfhttp://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdfhttp://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdfhttp://www.caacentre.ac.uk/dldocs/Bluepaper1.pdfhttp://www.flaguide.org/


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GRADING AND REPORTING

Primary Purpose of Grades

Officially - The primary purpose of grades is to communicate student achievement

to students, parents, school administrators, post-secondary institutions and

employers. - from Bailey, J. and McTighe, J., Reporting Achievement at the

Secondary School Level: What and How?, in Thomas R. Guskey, (Ed.)

Communicating Student Learning: ASCD Yearbook 1996, ASCD, Alexandria, VA,

1996

Some would argue that grades also serve to motivate student learning. We will

discuss that later. For now, lets look at the various grading approaches andsystems currently in vogue.

Assessment Concepts in the Grading Process

Assessment starts with the STANDARD.

o Reliability - Accuracy and Consistency

o Validity - Meaningfulness and Appropriateness

Formative Assessment - Data collected from pre-assessments, homework,

practice, and learning tasks to determine future instruction. Data collected

here is not put in grade book.

Summative Assessment - Data collected to determine level of mastery. It is

data collected here that is used in the grading system.

The Combinedand Translated Process

This part is not as obvious as you might think. The way you choose to

combine/translate separate scores into one grade is one of the most important

decisions you will make. You may literally hold the students future in your hands

based on your decisions.


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Rationales for Assigning Grades

Relative to fixed standard

Pro focus on achievement (e.g., 90%); often mandated by state or by

school district policy

Conthe standard is really an opinion

Relative to group performance

Pro real world orientation; always clear to determine

Con grade depends on others, who is the relevant group

Relative to ability, effort, or as a personal improvement

Profocus is on the student; often used by teachers who care about

their students

Con not recommend by experts as these make any conclusions

about learning murky to others

Coding Systems: The Actual Grades

Optional coding systems:

Letter grades

Percentage grades

Checklists

Narrative reports

BUT . . . The letter grade is the most widely used coding system. It is even

used even used in the general culture (A list actors, A number 1 used car,

etc.). So lets focus here.


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Different Grading Systems

Five-point system - Most high schools a five-point system. Numerical values

are applied to grades as follows:

A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F=0

Thirteen-point system - A few high schools in the United States use a

thirteen-point system. Numerical values are applied to grades as follows:

A+ = 4.33, A = 4.0, A = 3.57, B+ = 3.33, B = 3.0, B = 2.67, C+ =

2.33,

C = 2.0, C = 1.67, D+ = 1.33, D = 1,0 D = .67, F = 0.0

Grade-rationing system Grade-rationing is a euphemism for rank-based

grading and is popular approach among some educators. The arguments

for grade-rationing are that grade inflation represents a serious problem in

education, that can only be counteracted by the enforcement of rank-based

standards. (see next slide)

Since many large companies and corporations used rank-based evaluation

measures (referred to as rank-and-yank or up-or-out' approaches to

evaluations), ranked-based grading prepares students for the real world situation.

Students learn to compete academically with peers who will later be their

competitors in the job market.

A vitality curve is a leadership construct, assigning credit with certain

proportions of the production to proportions of a producing population. For example,

there is an often cited "20/80 rule or the Law of the Vital Few. This law posits that

the top 20% of criminals commit 80% of the crimes, the top 20% of academics

produce 80% of useful results, and so on. The concept of a "vitality curve" has been

used to justify the "rank-and-yank" system of performance management, whereby

the bottom ranking 10% of workers are fired at each evaluation.

Rank-based performance evaluations (in education and employment) fostercutthroat and unethical behavior.


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Rank-and-yank contrasts with the management philosophies of W. Edwards

Deming. Demings influence in Japan has been credited with Japan's world

leadership in many industries, particularly the automotive industry. While rank-and-

yank puts success or failure of the organization on the shoulders of the individual

worker, Deming stresses the need to understand organizational performance as

fundamentally a function of the corporate systems and processes created by

management. Workers need to feel valued, supported and part of a team doing

important work. He sees so-called performance evaluation, annual review of

performance, and merit-based evaluation as misguided and destructive. (see next

slide)

Weight GPA

Some high schools, to reflect the varying skill required for different level courses

and to discourage students from selecting easy 'A's, will give higher numerical

grades for difficult courses, often referred to as a weighted GPA. For example, two

common conversion systems used in honors and advanced placement courses are:

A = 5 or 4.6

B = 4 or 3.5

C = 3 or 2.1

D = 1

F = 0

Another policy commonly used by 4.0-scale schools is to mimic the eleven-point

weighted scale (see below) by adding a .33 (one third of a letter grade) to an honors

or advanced placement class. (For example, a B in a regular class would be a 3.0,

but in an honors or AP class it would become a B+, or 3.33).


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Communicating Grades and Scores to Parents / Guardians

Face to Face

BEFORE THE SHOW BEGINS

Be organized. Have a folder containing the students grades, examples of

work, standardized test scores, behavior notes.

Know this material. Know the grading system; know how to read the

standardized score report; know the nature of norm group(s) used.

Know the potential incongruence among the grades, test scores and behavior

evidence found in the folder and be ready to discuss them.

Have an agenda. Example: Point out strengths (grades & test scores),

suggest areas for improvement (grades & test scores, comment on behavior

(never begin with behavior especially if it is a concern), solicit questions,

close with a look to the future.

SHOWTIME:

Be honest. Dont sugarcoat. Dont go beyond your competence in answering

a question. Say you will get back to them.

Be professional. Dont dismiss or prejudge any result as unimportant. Any

result is important to the parent.

Be calm. Dont be surprised if your assessment differs from the parents;

students may be behave differently at home and in the classroom.

Be geared up with specific suggestions for the parents on how they might

help improve the performance of their student.

Be confidential. Do not refer to any otherstudents performance.

Be ready. Know who to call if you encounter an obnoxious parent .

Be upbeat. Close on a vision to a positive future.


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Effect of Variability on Weights

The most variable element will have greatest weight in determining the

grade, not the element with the highest numerical value.

Regression to mean

The composite formed by adding grades together will show less

variability than the grade ranges of the subscores used to create it.

Legal Considerations

It is your responsibility to keep accurate records. Issues: hard copy and

electronic grade books; security.

LEGISLATION - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Two

main points:

o Parents have a right to see grading and test score information for their

children.

o Schools may not reveal grades and scores to a third part without the

individuals consent.

COURTS - Two main points:

o Deference is given to the educators judgment, as long as

o Grades are assigned in an even-handed, rational manner.

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION - a surprise, perhaps:

o Final authority for grades is the school administration. In rare

circumstances an administrator may change a grade and has the legal

responsible to do so.


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Practical Advice

1. First, have a reasonable and fair assessment plan.

2. Check for school policies on grading; if school has policy, study it carefully.

3. Learn to use an electronic spreadsheet or purchase a Teacher Gradebook

program (some schools have a centralized system).

4. Consider creatively combining formative and summative assessment.

5. Review suggestions for parent-teacher conference.

6. Use various sources to provide feedback to parents and to solicit their help.

Over the course of an academic career the average student will be exposed

to a variety of grading systems and procedures. Although some of these systems

may be qualitative in nature, such as an annual or semi-annual written narrative, the

vast majority are quantitative and depend upon numerical or alphanumerical metrics.

Perhaps the most familiar of these involves the letters "A" through "F," where "A" is

usually given a value of 4.0 and is characterized in words

as outstandingorexcellentand "F" is given a value of 0.0 and is described

as unsatisfactoryorfailing. The grades of A through F are usually derived from some

more differentiated quantitative value such as test score, in which the specific nature

of the relationship between grade and test score may take a variety of different

forms: (e.g., an A is defined by a score of 90% or better or by a value that falls in the

top 510% of scores independent of absolute value, and so on). Regardless of the

specific translation of test performance into letter grade, the point to keep in mind is

that the AF scale defines the most frequent grading system used in higher

education over the past half century or more.

Variations in the Grading System

Like all prototypes, the AF system admits many variations. These often take the

form of plusses and minuses, thereby producing a scale having the possibility of

fifteen distinct units: A+, A, A, B+, B F. In actual practice, the grade of A+ isscarcely ever used and the same is true for D+ and Dand F+ and F, thereby


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yielding a scale of between eight to ten units. Generally speaking, the greater the

number of units in the grading system the more precisely does it hope to quantify

student performance. What is interesting in this regard are fluctuations in the actual

number of units used in different historical eras. Without going too deeply into the

relevant historical facts, it is clear that certain historical periods, such as the 1960s,

reduced the grading system to two or so unitsPass, No Credit (P/NC)whereas

other periods, such as the 1980s, expanded it to ten, eleven or twelve units.

Variations in the breadth of the grading system would seem to have significant

educational implications. At a minimum, these differences may be taken to imply that

scales having a large number of units indicate a relative comfort in making precise

distinctions, whereas those having fewer units suggest a relative discomfort in

making such distinctions. In the case of more differentiated systems, distinctions and

rankings are significant, and individual achievement is emphasized; in the case of

less differentiated systems, distinctions and rankings are de-emphasized and inter-

student competition is minimized. To some degree, it is possible to view fluctuations

in American grading systems as reflecting a more general ambivalence the society

has in regard to competition and cooperation, between individual recognition and

social equity. Educational institutions sometimes emphasize strict evaluation,competition, and individual achievement, whereas at other times they emphasize

less precise evaluation, cooperation, and sympathetic understanding for students of

all achievement levels.

Another property of grading systems is that individual class grades often are

combined to produce an overall metric called the grade point average or GPA. Unlike

its constituent values, which usually are carried to only one (or no numerically

significant places), the GPA presents a metric of 400 units yielding the possibility that

a GPA of 3.00 will locate the student in the category of "good" whereas a value

of2.99 will exclude him or her from this category. In the same way, honors,

admission to graduate school, preliminary selection for interviews by a desirable

company, and so forth, may be defined by a single point difference on the GPA scale

(e.g., 3.50 versus3.49 for Phi Beta Kappa, etc.).

Because GPAs are significant in categorizing student performance, a number

of evaluations have been made of their reliability and validity. One issue to be


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addressed here concerns field of study, where it is well documented that classes in

the natural sciences and business produce lower overall grades than those in the

humanities or social sciences. What this means is that it is unreasonable to equate

grade values across disciplines. It also suggests that the GPA is composed of

unequal components and that students may be able to secure a higher GPA by a

judicious selection of courses.

Although other factors may be mentioned aside from academic discipline

(such as SAT level of school, quality and nature of tests, etc.) the conclusion must

be that the GPA is a poor measure and should not be used by itself in coming to

significant decisions about the quality of student performance or differences between

departments and/or educational institutions. The GPA is also a relatively poor basis

on which to predict future performance, which perhaps explains why such attempts

are never very impressive. In fact, a number of meta-analyses of this relationship,

conducted every ten years or so since 1965, reveals that the median correlation

between GPA and future performance is 0.18; a value that is neither very useful nor

impressive. The strongest relationship between GPA and future achievement is

usually found between undergraduate GPA and first-year performance in graduate or

professional school.

Despite such difficulties in understanding the exact meanings of grades and

the GPA, they remain important social metrics and sometimes yield heated

discussions over issues such as grade inflation. Although grade inflation has many

different meanings, it usually is defined by an increase in the absolute number of As

and Bs over some period of years. The tacit assumption here seems to be that any

continuing increase in the overall percentage of "good grades" or in the overall GPA

implies a corresponding decline in academic standards. Although historically there

have been periods in which the number of good grades decreased (so-called grade

deflation), significant social concerns usually only accompany the grade inflation

pattern. This one-sided emphasis suggests that grade inflation is as much a

sociopolitical issue as an educational one and depends upon the dubious equating of

grades with money. What really seems of concern here is a value issue, not a cogent

analogy that reveals anything significant about grades or money.


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How Grades Are Produced

Grading systems represent just one aspect of an interconnecting network of

educational processes, and any attempt to describe grading systems without

considering other aspects of this network must necessarily be incomplete. Perhaps

the most important of these processes concerns the procedures used to produce

grades in the first place, namely, the classroom test. Here, of course, are purely

formal differences; for example, between multiple choice and essay tests, or

between in-class and take-home tests or papers. Also to be included are the quality

of test items themselves not only in terms of content but also in terms of the clarity of

the question and, in the case of multiple choice tests, of the distractors.

One way to capture the complexity of possible ways in which grades are

produced is to consider the set of implicit choices that lie behind an instructor's use

of a specific testing and/or grading procedure. Included here are such questions as:

What evaluation procedure should I use? Term papers, classroom discussions, or in-

class tests? If I choose tests, what kind(s)? Essay, true/false, fill-in-the-blank,

matching, or multiple-choice? If I choose multiple-choice, what grading model should

I use? Normal curve, percent-correct, improvement over preceding tests? If I choose

percent-correct, how many tests should I give? Final only, two in-class tests and a

final, one midterm and one final? How should I weight each test if I choose the

midterm-final pattern? Midterm equals final, midterm is equivalent to twice the final

exam grade, final equals twice the midterm grade? What grade report system should

I use? P/F; A, B, C, D, F; or A+, A, A, B+, F? An examination of this collection of

possible choices suggests that instructors have a large number of options as to how

to go about testing and grading their students.

Any consideration of the ways in which testing and grading relate to one

another must also deal with the ways in which one or both of these activities relate to

learning and teaching. The relationship between learning and testing is a fairly direct

(if neglected) one, especially if tests are used not only to evaluate student

achievement but also to reinforce or promote learning itself. Thus it is easy to

develop a classroom question or exercise that requires the student to read some

material before being able to answer the question or complete the exercise.

Teaching, on the other hand, would seem to be somewhat further removed from


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issues of testing and grading, although the specific testing and grading plan used by

the instructor does inform the student as to what constitutes relevant knowledge as

well as what attitude he or she holds toward precise evaluation and academic

competition.

Students are not immune to testing and grade procedures, and educational

researchers have made the distinction between students who are grade oriented and

those who are learning oriented. Although this distinction is surely too one-

dimensional, it does suggest that for some students the classroom is a place where

they experience and enjoy learning for its own sake. For other students, however,

the classroom is experienced as a crucible in which they are tested and in which the

attainment of a good grade becomes more important than the learning itself. When

students are asked how they became grade (or learning) oriented, they usually point

to the actions of their teachers in emphasizing grades as a significant indicator of

future success; alternatively, they describe instructors who are excited by promoting

new learning in their classrooms. When college instructors are asked about the

reason(s) for their emphasis on grades, they report that student behaviorssuch as

arguing over the scoring of a single questionmake it necessary for them to maintain

strict and well-defined grading standards in their classrooms. The ironic point is thatboth the student and the instructor see the "other" as emphasizing grades over

learning, and neither sees this as a desirable state of affairs. What seems missing in

this context is a clear recognition by both the instructor and the student that grades

are best construed as a type of communication. When grades (and tests) are thought

about in this way, they can be used to improve learning. As it now stands, however,

the communicative purpose of grading is ordinarily submerged in their more ordinary

use as a means of rating and sorting students for social and institutional purposes

not directly tied to learning. Only when grades are integrated into a coherent

teaching and learning strategy do they serve the purpose of providing useful and

meaningful feedback not only to the larger culture but to the individual student as

well.


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REFERENCE

BAIRD, LEONARD L. 1985. "Do Tests and Grades Predict Adult

Achievement?" Research in Higher Education 23:385.

CURRETON, LOUISE W. 1971. "The History of Grading Practices." Measurement inEducation 2:19.

DUKE, J. D. 1983. "Disparities in Grading Practice: Some Resulting Inequities and a

Proposed New Index of Academic Achievement." Psychological Reports 53:1023

1080.

GOLDMAN, ROY D. ; SCHMIDT, DONALD, E. ; HEWITT, BARBARA, N.; and

FISHER, RONALD. 1974. "Grading Practices in Different Major Fields."American

Education Research Journal11:343357.

MILTON, E. OHMER; POLLIO, HOWARD R.; and EISON, JAMES A. 1986. Making

Sense of College Grades. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

POLLIO, HOWARD R.; and BECK, HALL P. 2000. "When the Tail Wags the Dog:

Perceptions of Learning and Grade Orientation in and by Contemporary College

Students and Faculty." The Journal of Higher Education 71:84102.

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