What Is Essential in a Grading Policy?

What Is Essential in a Grading Policy?

New teachers need to decide—and experienced teachers sometimes need to reassess—what their grading policy is going to be.

It’s not a trivial matter: Grading policy can be an important driver of what students learn, how they learn it, and how successfully they master the content and competencies your courses are meant to impart.

According to the presenter, there are three fundamental decisions you need to make about your grading policy, and she provides a thoughtful analysis of them in What Is Essential in a Grading Policy?

Learning Goals

In this insight-filled Magna 20-Minute Mentor program, you’ll consider the merits of absolute grading versus grading on a curve, the pluses and minuses of letter-based and point-based grading, and whether—and how—to properly weight assignments across a semester.

Along the way, you’ll discover how a grading policy can shape student behavior—sometimes in ways conducive to healthy learning, and sometimes not.

At the conclusion of What Is Essential in a Grading Policy?, you’ll be able to:

• Articulate the pros and cons of different grading methods.
• Make policy decisions that are aligned with your objectives for student learning.
• Make feedback more meaningful, more constructive, and more reflective of student performance.

Its knowledge you need in order to establish the most appropriate and meaningful grading policies for your courses, to encourage learning, to keep students engaged, and to properly recognize their performance.

Topics Covered

Like many aspects of good teaching, grading policy is a nuanced issue. One size fits all simply doesn’t apply.

The methods you choose to recognize student performance can impact their motivation, their engagement, and ultimately, their mastery of the content and competencies you’ve challenged them to acquire.

In What Is Essential in a Grading Policy?, the presenter will share insights borne of a long teaching career as she highlights the benefits and the pitfalls of three key grading decisions.

In this fast-paced program, you’ll gather invaluable insights on:

Absolute grades versus grades on a curve

Do you want students to demonstrate well-defined levels of learning? Or do you want to assess their performance relative to that of their peers? In some cases, the latter is appropriate; in others, the former is a necessity. In her presentation, presenter will help you determine the best approach for the material youre teaching. Shell also alert you to the impact your choice could have on classroom dynamics, including students willingness to participate and collaborate.

Letters versus points

Which is more objective, A-B-C grading or a points-based system? And, reality aside, how do students perceive that objectivity? The presenter explains how you can establish meaningful, defensible standards for grades of both types. She also cautions against using criteria that encourage counterproductive student behaviors like grade grubbing for a point here, or a plus or minus there.

Weighting assignments

Should the final paper or test be weighted more heavily than the rest? If so, how much? What does this do to students commitment to a particular assignment? The presenter will share recommendations about weighting assignments based on your course goals and objectives, and help you develop a method for identifying and prioritizing those.

Purchase

Make sure your grading policies merit an A+ (or a 100, as the case may be); order What Is Essential in a Grading Policy? today!

Product Code: PM15PA