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Grading on a curve | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)

[new] Even a straight percentage can be flexible (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by Anonymous Hero on Thu Feb 12, 2004 at 12:14:17 PM PDT

In graduate school the TAs graded on a curve, using clusters (cutoffs were put at the bottom of a cluster so no one was one point away from the next grade up), and I found it to be a little distasteful. It felt arbitrary, and no one felt comfortable explaining to the students exactly how grades were determined. The math department where I eventually was hired used a 90-80-70 cutoff for A,B,C (+/- were a little more arbitrary) and so, in keeping with the culture of the school, I decided to stick with that. I found that I really preferred it. I give partial credit, so the first few times I teach a class I do grades initially in pencil and then see where they lie. If I feel like my grading is too harsh or too easy I can usually adjust partial credit so that the grades match my gut feeling. This is essentially like grading on a curve, but the students feel like it is "fair". And while it takes longer initially, after I've taught a course I have a good sense of how much partial credit to award for typical mistakes. Another advantage is that my classes tend to be small (under 30 students, and sometimes under 15 in upper-level classes), so it simply wouldn't make sense to assume that there is a bell-shaped distribution in every class. Last semester I gave a test where no one got an A, but I felt comfortable with it (I'd taught the class several times, and it was clear that this particular group of students was weaker overall). I've also given tests where the lowest grade was a C, and while I do keep an eye on my own trends to avoid grade inflation, sometimes it's just that I have a particularly good group of students, or even that I taught a topic particularly well.

Grading on a curve | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)

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