University of New Mexico - Valencia Campus
Teaching & Learning Center
Grading and Assessment Resources
Carnegie Mellon University: Developing Grading Criteriahttp://www.cmu.edu/provost/teaching/developingWC.htm
Grading Class Participationhttp://www.virginia.edu/~trc/tcgpart.htm
GRADING PRACTICES By Barbara Gross Davis, University of California, Berkeley.
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/grading.htm
Excel for Grade books Template http://www.tltgroup.org/LTAs/lta_examples.htm
The six functions of grading http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/grading.html
Classroom Research and Classroom Assessment respond directly to concerns about better learning and more effective teaching. http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/assess-1.htm
Background Knowledge Probe -step by step -Minute Paper -Muddiest Point http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/assess-2.htm
The Teaching Goals Inventory (TGI) is a self-assessment for professors. Its purpose is threefold: (1) to help professors become more aware of what goals they want to accomplish in individual courses; (2) to help professors locate Classroom Assessment Techniques they can use to assess how well they are achieving their goals; and (3) to provide a starting point for discussions of teaching and learning goals among professors. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/tchgoals.html
Unlike grades, which are identified with particular students, assessments are almost always anonymous. Occasionally, assessment techniques require students to organize seriously and spend energy committing their thoughts to paper. It would be nice if the students could write their papers anonymously but still be able to get them back after the professor has read them.
http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/pic0.html
What do you, as a participant, hope to get out of a course, seminar, or workshop? What goals or expectations do you wish to satisfy? This assessment is best done at or near the beginning of a course because it allows the professor or leader to adjust the syllabus explicitly to include student interests. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/goal2.html
The Muddiest Point assessment should be used with discretion. Focusing on muddiest points too often can be discouraging for both students and professors because of the tendency to emphasize the negative. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/muddy3.html
The Minute Paper is the single most commonly used classroom assessment technique. It really does take about a minute and, while usually used at the end of class, it can be used at the end of any topic. Its major advantage is that it provides rapid feedback on whether the professor's main idea, and what the students perceived as the main idea, are the same.
http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/minpap4.html
Self Assessment makes the student privately but directly confront personal attitudes, paradigms, and biases that may unconsciously present a barrier to learning. At its core, the professor presents students with alternative ways of looking at a controversial issue and asks them to indicate, by writing on a 3x5 card, which viewpoint applies to them.
http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/self5.html
A Self-Confidence Survey helps to identify areas where students feel comfortable and where they do not. Insofar as self confidence reflects recognition of one's own competence, brief written reflections on confidence make apparent those areas where students need fundamental practice and those where they are ready for more advanced challenges.
http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/confid5.html
"If assessment is to improve the quality of student learning, and not just provide greater accountability, both faculty and students must become personally invested and actively involved in the process."
http://www.exchangesjournal.org/viewpoints/Dont_be_Afraid_pg1.html
Characteristic Features are those traits that help define a topic and differentiate it from others. This assessment technique is particularly useful for seeing whether students are separating items or ideas that are easily confused. By selecting especially critical differentiators, a professor can both highlight and assess the students' use of analysis to help them characterize central concepts.http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/featurs6.html
The Background Knowledge Learning Probe assesses the mindset and language of students' private worlds. This allows the professor to prepare a learning environment where the new knowledge is more likely to stick. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/probe7.html
RSQC2 stands for Recall, Summarize, Question, Comment, and Connect. RSQC2 is an assessment device that encourages students to recall and review class information comprehensively. In so doing, it allows the professor to compare students' perspectives against his or her own. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/rsq9.html
Transfer & Apply is an intentional way of prompting members of a class or audience to recognize ideas they have learned and consciously transfer them to applications in their own environment. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/apps9.html
Published grading standards make expectations visible, and subject to assessment.
http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/grstandi.html
Don't be misled by the title of this book. At first glance, one might assume that it is a book only about grading in the narrow sense of the term. However, the authors use the concept of grading in a far more ambitious and important manner.
http://www.exchangesjournal.org/reviews/review_1085.html
This is a sample form for the Writing Assessment & Evaluation. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/grrub.html
Group-work is a fact of life in the corporate work force. As faculty members become increasingly aware of external expectations and more interested in active learning, the need for Group-work Assessment grows. This assessment should really be used in the early-middle of a project and again at the end. All groups have their disagreements; early assessment can help make real problems visible before they fester into disasters. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/grp13.html
The synergy possible in a group is remarkable. Frequently, students, workers in a corporation, professors, and managers could do much more to cultivate that synergy. There is a need, early and overtly, for Assessing Group Effectiveness in order to place individual personalities in perspective, value the differences that arise, and meld diverse approaches into effective teamwork.
http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/gpw14.html
Effective study can be thought of as a function time multiplied by effort. A self Assessment of Effective Study Time can bring habits of effective study to the surface by focusing a student's attention on these two factors. The purpose of this assessment is to increase study effectiveness, not to evaluate the weight of study relative to a student's other priorities.
http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/studya.html
Self-Assessment Form for Lecture Course http://trc.virginia.edu/Publications/Teaching_Concerns/Misc_Tips/Self-Assessment_Form.htm
The purpose of classroom assessment is to provide faculty and students with information and insights needed to improve teaching effectiveness and learning quality. Other FAQ can also be found here. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/catmain.html
The evaluation requirement had two purposes: (1) to ensure that the funds were being used to address the needs of disadvantaged children; and (2) to provide information that would empower parents and communities to push for better education. Others saw the use of information on programs and their effectiveness as a means of upgrading schools.
http://teacherpathfinder.org/School/Assess/assess.html
The following are some basic definitions of content and performance standards, as well as an overview of the issues involved in developing assessments to measure state content and student performance standards. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/IASA/newsletters/assess/pt1.html
In this newsletter, we are using the concept of performance-based assessment used by the Office of Technology Assessment, which defines performance assessment as testing methods that require students to create an answer or product that demonstrates knowledge or skills. Performance assessments may include any of the following categories to items.
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/IASA/newsletters/assess/pt3.html
Any assessment of student achievement is unlikely to exert significant influence on instruction unless some stakes are attached to its results or teachers value the assessment as an accurate reflection of what students know and can do. "What you test is what you get" is a familiar refrain within the educational community; as a result, educators are searching for assessments that promote the type of instruction encouraged by new content standards. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/IASA/newsletters/assess/pt4.html
Assessments must reflect the learning goals that define various environments. If the goal is to enhance understanding and applicability of knowledge, it is not sufficient to provide assessments that focus primarily on memory of facts and formulas.
http://crossroads.georgetown.edu/vkp/resources/glossary/authenticassessment.htm
New developments in the science of learning raise important questions about the design of learning environments--questions that suggest the value of rethinking what is taught, how it is taught, and how it is assessed. http://books.nap.edu/html/howpeople1/ch6.html
Making peer assessment function as an active, supportive reflection on learning progress rather than as a token-economy of performance rewards is the litmus test of collaborative learner-centered teaching approaches.
http://crossroads.georgetown.edu/vkp/resources/glossary/peerreview.htm
Classroom assessment is both a teaching approach and a set of techniques. The approach is that the more you know about what and how students are learning, the better you can plan learning activities to structure your teaching. The techniques are mostly simple, non-graded, anonymous, in-class activities that give both you and your students useful feedback on the teaching-learning process. http://www.iub.edu/~teaching/feedback.shtml
The "Worksheet" provides a format for listing the different kinds of learning and then checking to see if you have the right means for evaluating that learning. http://www.ou.edu/idp/tips/ideas/typeoflearn.html
When deciding how to provide Feedback and Assessment for student learning, teachers need to do this in a way that goes beyond grading to also helping the learning process. This essay provides a model of educative assessment. These procedures will create EDUCATIVE ASSESSMENT, i.e., assessment that enhances the learning process. http://www.ou.edu/idp/tips/ideas/feedback2.html
Rubrics (or "scoring tools") are a way of describing evaluation criteria (or "grading standards") based on the expected outcomes and performances of students. Typically, rubrics are used in scoring or grading written assignments or oral presentations.
http://www.flaguide.org/cat/rubrics/rubrics7.htm
Continuous quality management (CQI) first moved onto the education scene slightly more than ten years ago. Some institutions of higher learning, community colleges in particular, eagerly embraced its general precepts. Most tried to ignore CQI and it greatest advocate, the American business community. http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/94-6dig.htm
Many instructors have become far more satisfied with their SMET course simply by taking a few minutes during a typical lecture and posing a conceptual question called a ConcepTest to their students. Eric Mazur, a Harvard physics professor, developed this method for teaching undergraduate physics courses. http://www.flaguide.org/cat/contests/contests1.php
Performance assessment strategies are composed of three distinct parts: a performance task; a format in which the student responds; and a predetermined scoring system. http://www.flaguide.org/cat/perfass/perfass1.php
While it has often been argued, it is nonetheless worth keeping in mind that the most important function of assessment is to use it as a major means for continuous improvement in our teaching and in the instructional programs we offer on our respective campuses.
http://www.exchangesjournal.org/viewpoints/1124_Wiley.html
What is information literacy competency? The Presidential Committee on Information Literacy of the American Library Association stated in 1989 that "to be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." http://www.exchangesjournal.org/viewpoints/1100_Rockman_pg1.html
In this report I will discuss the pedagogical perspective served by the CIQ, the basic philosophy behind its use its characteristics, and its benefits. My comments about this tool are based on my own experiences with it in two Spring 2000 public communication courses taught in the California State University, Fresno Smittcamp Honors College and on my understanding of its use by Stephen Brookfield (1995). The Critical Incident Questionnaire: A Critical Reflective Teaching Tool http://www.exchangesjournal.org/classroom/ciq_pg1.html
A major stumbling block to students' success in intermediate microeconomic theory is an inadequate background in basic quantitative skills and economic concepts. To address this concern, we develop a Pretest Program to help improve student performance. http://www.exchangesjournal.org/research/1151_Brajer_Gill_1.html
Explaining General Strategies & Minimizing Students' Complaints About Gradinghttp://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/grading.htm
How do the students explain their insight? http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/suppmat/111smith.htm
There are no hard-and-fast rules about the best ways to grade. In fact, as Erickson and Strommer (1991) point out, how you grade depends a great deal on your values, assumptions, and educational philosophy: if you view introductory courses as "weeder" classes–to separate out students who lack potential for future success in the field–you are likely to take a different grading approach than someone who views introductory courses as teaching important skills that all students need to master. The suggestions in this page are designed to help you develop clear and fair grading policies. http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/grading.html
Assessment VS Grades http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/gradesv.html
Grading Standards sample for the Living Environment Class http://www.siue.edu/~deder/grstand.html
Assigning grades is one of the most difficult tasks you will face in teaching. Teachers must combine a variety of disparate elements of student performance into a single course grade: verbal skills, ability to memorize, retention of factual information, ability to synthesize material, ability to make reasoned judgments about the material, etc. It is difficult to devise a grading method in which the final grade fairly reflects all aspects of a student's performance. http://ctl.unc.edu/he2.html
One of my friends describes grading as being nibbled to death by ducks. The final ritual of a long semester may well feel that way. Pressed to wrap up other jobs, uncertain about teaching successes, and having to find energy for one more big job, grading papers and exams can become a thankless chore. Yet, your responses to students' work is the last contact you will have with many of them. Effective teachers use grading as one final teaching moment http://web.indstate.edu/ctl/tips/tip3_17.html
As the title of this section implies, testing is only part of the evaluation of learning. Every time you ask a question in class, monitor a student discussion, or read a term paper, you are evaluating learning. Moreover, the evaluation process (whether it involves examinations or not) is a valuable part of the teaching process. The primary purpose of evaluation is to provide corrective feedback to the student, the secondary purpose is to satisfy the administrative requirement of ranking students on a grading scale.
http://ctl.unc.edu/he1.html
The following remarks are intended to give you a sense of criteria for grading papers. Note that four topics recur: thesis, use of evidence, design (organization), and basic writing skills (grammar, mechanics, spelling). In courses with multiple graders or teaching fellows, it is essential that a uniform grading standard be discussed and adapted by those grading students' work.
http://bokcenter.harvard.edu/docs/GradingPapers.html
Responding to response papers is a necessary though time-consuming task. It is necessary because, if you do not, most students will stop putting effort into them. But how can you respond to every paper without expending vast amounts of time and labor?
http://bokcenter.harvard.edu/docs/TFTresponsepapers.html
Do you know how to construct a grading system that is fair to students and properly reflects student achievement?
http://www.ou.edu/idp/tips/ideas/quick9.html
Grades reflect personal philosophy and human psychology, as well as efforts to measure intellectual progress with standardized objective criteria. This chapter discusses grading philosophies, presents suggestions that will help to maintain fairness and consistency in your grading, and discusses issues that should be addressed in course planning.
http://online.fsu.edu/learningresources/handbook/instructionatfsu/PDF-Chptr13.pdf
Published grading standards make expectations visible, and subject to assessment. http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/cats/grstandi.html
The complexities of normative and criterion-referenced grading, and ways to make grades more consistent, fair and meaningful. Also, sidebar on the history of grading. http://www.uiowa.edu/~centeach/talk/volume2/grades.html
The following ideas are designed to help you impart to your students the values of academic honesty and to help you set policies that encourage academic integrity. http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/prevent.html