Rethinking exams and letter grades: how much can teachers delegate to students?

In this article we report a 3-yr study of a large-enrollment Cell Biology course focused on developing student skill in scientific reasoning and data interpretation. Specifically, the study tested the hypothesis that converting the role of exams from summative grading devices to formative tools would increase student success in acquiring those skills. Traditional midterm examinations were replaced by weekly assessments administered under test-like conditions and followed immediately by extensive self, peer, and instructor feedback. Course grades were criterion based and derived using data from the final exam. To alleviate anxiety associated with a single grading instrument, students were given the option of informing the grading process with evidence from weekly assessments. A comparative analysis was conducted to determine the impact of these design changes on both performance and measures of student affect. Results at the end of each year were used to inform modifications to the course in subsequent years. Significant improvements in student performance and attitudes were observed as refinements were implemented. The findings from this study emphasized the importance of prolonging student opportunity and motivation to improve by delaying grade decisions, providing frequent and immediate performance feedback, and designing that feedback to be maximally formative and minimally punitive.     

GRADING WITHOUT POINTS DOES IT HURT STUDENT PERFORMANCE?

Abstract. We gave students enrolled in a research methods course the option of receiving normal grade feedback on assignments (with point values assigned) or receiving feedback on assignments without point values assigned. With respect to final grades earned, students in the two groups did not differ significantly. Final grades were related to self-report of effort as well as future career plans. We encourage instructors to experiment with the mechanics of grade feedback to optimize educational opportunities for students.     

Children's memory for phonemically confusable and nonconfusable letters: changes with age and reading ability

This experiment focused on differences that occur with age and reading skill in the use of phonemic codes in short-term retention tasks where stimuli were presented visually. In 1 condition, individuals recalled 6-letter strings composed of rhyming and nonrhyming letters after a 15-sec delay under conditions that permitted phonemic coding and rehearsal. 2 other conditions were designed to suppress (a) rehearsal of certain types of phonemic codes in the delay interval and (b) both phonemic coding at stimulus presentation and rehearsal. Subjects were grade 2 average readers matched in reading skill with grade 4 disabled readers, grade 4 average matched with grade 6 disabled, and grade 6 average matched with grade 4 superior readers. Average readers showed a decrease in errors with age in all 3 conditions, although performance was always better in the nonsuppression condition. In the latter, memory for nonrhyming letters was always better than memory for rhyming letters. Differential use of phonemic codes by good and poor readers in grades 4 and 6 was less than that found in previous research with younger children. Finally, by comparing the performances of grade 2 average with grade 4 disabled readers and grade 4 average with grade 6 disabled readers, the developmental lag hypothesis of reading disability was examined. Problems with testing the hypothesis are discussed.     

THE PASS-FAIL GRADING OPTION AT A STATE UNIVERSITY: A FIVE SEMESTER EVALUATION1

To evaluate the pass-fail grading option, course and grade data were generated each semester. Faculty and student attitudinal data were obtained once. Because pass-fail students were not identified to instructors, all students were given traditional A-E grades. During administrative data processing, the A-E grades of pass-fail students were converted to pass or fail. In comparison with traditionally graded students in the same classes, pass-fail students received lower grades on the average. The pass-fail option proved to be popular. Students favored the pass-fail option, although their reasons for electing the option were not necessarily in accord with the official rationale, to foster exploration. Perhaps because they perceived students as abusing the option, the small faculty sample had somewhat negative attitudes toward the pass-fail system.     

Variables contributing to academic success in an intermediate statistics course: the importance of learned resourcefulness

We examined the variables contributing to statistical anxiety, statistical resourcefulness and grades in an intermediate statistics course. Questionnaires assessing the aforementioned variables, as well as general resourcefulness, statistical self‐efficacy and attitudes, and grade goals were completed by 168 students in September and in January. Our findings revealed that students possessing a larger repertoire of general resourcefulness skills and higher statistical self‐efficacy were more likely to rely on statistical self‐control strategies, and, as a result, attain higher grades. Students having higher statistical test anxiety were not only less generally and statistically resourceful, but they were also more likely to be aiming for lower grades and attributing past performance disappointments to lack of ability and task difficulty.     

Comparison of anxiety levels of students in introductory earth science and geology courses

Students in geology and earth science courses were not anxious about taking these courses as measured by the State-Triat Anxiety Inventory. Students in each course were split into two grade groups. It was shown that students whose grades were in the higher group had low anxiety, which continued to be reduced during the course. Students in the lower grade group had high anxiety, which increased during the course. There was no difference between anxiety scores of males and females. In general, students who planned to elect additional courses had lower state anxiety and higher grades than students who did not plan to elect additional courses in geology and earth science.     

Online Technologies Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulated Learning as Predictors of Final Grade and Satisfaction in College-Level Online Courses

This study was designed to examine performance as a function of grade and course satisfaction in online undergraduate level courses, specifically students' self-efficacy for online technologies and self-regulated learning strategies. This research included a sample (N = 815) of community college students enrolled in liberal arts online courses during a single semester. The results of this study showed that online technologies self-efficacy scores were not correlated with student performance. Of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire subscales, time and study environment and effort regulation were significantly related to performance. Students who scored higher on these subscales received higher final grades. In addition, rehearsal, elaboration, metacognitive self-regulation, and time and study environment were significantly positively correlated with levels of satisfaction.     

3-6年级留守儿童孤独感与社交焦虑关系研究

采用儿童孤独感量表和儿童社交焦虑量表,以3-6年级留守儿童为对象进行调查研究。结果发现:(1)3-6年级留守儿童的孤独感在性别变量上无显著差异。(2)父母双方外出打工的留守儿童孤独感显著高于父亲外出打工的留守儿童,与母亲外出打工留守儿童的孤独感无显著差异。(3)3-6年级留守儿童的孤独感在年级变量上的差异显著,随着年级升高,孤独感得分随之降低。(4)3-6年级留守儿童的孤独感与总体社交焦虑及其各因子呈显著正相关,总体社交焦虑和社交回避对孤独感具有显著的联合预测作用。     

Teachers' Spatial Anxiety Relates to 1st‐ and 2nd‐Graders' Spatial Learning

Teachers' anxiety about an academic domain, such as math, can impact students' learning in that domain. We asked whether this relation held in the domain of spatial skill, given the importance of spatial skill for success in math and science and its malleability at a young age. We measured 1st‐ and 2nd‐grade teachers' spatial anxiety (N = 19) and students' spatial skill (N = 132). Teachers' spatial anxiety significantly predicted students' end‐of‐year spatial skill, even after accounting for students' beginning‐of‐year spatial skill, phonological working memory, grade level, and teachers' math anxiety. Since spatial skill is not a stand‐alone part of the curriculum like math or reading, teachers with high levels of spatial anxiety may simply avoid incorporating spatial activities in the classroom. Results suggest that addressing teachers' spatial anxieties may improve spatial learning in early elementary school.     

The Big-Fish–Little-Pond Effect for Academic Self-Concept, Test Anxiety, and School Grades in Gifted Children

This study reports data extending work by Marsh and colleagues on the “big-fish-little-pond effect” (BFLPE). The BFLPE hypothesizes that it is better for academic self-concept to be a big fish in a little pond (gifted student in regular reference group) than to be a small fish in a big pond (gifted student in gifted reference group). The BFLPE effect was examined with respect to academic self-concept, test anxiety, and school grades in a sample of 1020 gifted Israeli children participating in two different educational programs: (a) special homogeneous classes for the gifted and (b) regular mixed-ability classes. The central hypothesis, deduced from social comparison and reference group theory, was that academically talented students enrolled in special gifted classes will perceive their academic ability and chances for academic success less favorably compared to students in regular mixed-ability classes. These negative self-perceptions, in turn, will serve to deflate students' academic self-concept, elevate their levels of evaluative anxiety, and result in depressed school grades. A path-analytic model linking reference group, academic self-concept, evaluative anxiety, and school performance, was employed to test this conceptualization. Overall, the data lend additional support to reference group theory, with the big-fish-little-pond effect supported for all three variables tested. In addition, academic self-concept and test anxiety were observed to mediate the effects of reference group on school grades.     

Grading as a Reform Effort: Do Standards‐Based Grades Converge With Test Scores?

Standards‐based progress reports (SBPRs) require teachers to grade students using the performance levels reported by state tests and are an increasingly popular report card format. They may help to increase teacher familiarity with state standards, encourage teachers to exclude nonacademic factors from grades, and/or improve communication with parents. The current study examines the SBPR grade–state test score correspondence observed across 2 years in 125 third and fifth grade classrooms located in one school district to examine the degree of consistency between grades and state test results. It also examines the grading practices of a subset of 37 teachers to determine whether there is an association between teacher appraisal style and convergence rates. A moderate degree of grade–test score convergence was observed using three agreement estimates (coefficient kappa, tau‐b correlations, and classroom‐level mean differences between grades and test scores). In addition, only small amounts of grade–test score convergence were observed between teachers; a much greater proportion of variance lay within classrooms and subjects. Appraisal style correlated weakly with convergence rates, but was most strongly related to assigning students to the same performance level as the test. Therefore using recommended grading practices may improve the quality of SBPR grades to some extent.     

Teachers' Role,Learners' Gender Differences,and FL Anxiety Among Seventh‐Grade Students Studying English as a FL

This study investigated the relationship between foreign language (FL) anxiety and achievement in that language. The role of the FL teacher as perceived by the learners was also tested. Participants were 67 seventh‐grade students. They were administered an anxiety questionnaire, a Hebrew reading comprehension test, an English reading comprehension test, an English creative writing task, and an English spelling test. The results indicated that anxiety was negatively and significantly correlated to FL achievement on all FL tests. Gender and teachers' attitudes were the only significant predictors of FL anxiety among these seventh‐grade students. The results are discussed in light of findings in the literature. Some recommendations are suggested to ease anxiety in FL students.     

Learning about evolution and rejecting a belief in special creation: Effects of reflective reasoning skill,prior knowledge,prior belief and religious commitment

Students in three sections of a high school biology course were taught a unit on evolution and natural selection. Prior to instruction, students were pretested to determine their (a) reflective reasoning skill, (b) strength of religious commitment, (c) prior declarative knowledge of evolution and natural selection, and (d) beliefs in evolution or special creation and related religiously oriented beliefs. Following instruction the measures of declarative knowledge and beliefs were readministered. The study was designed to test (a) the hypothesis that the acquisition of domain-specific concepts and the modification of nonscientific beliefs largely depends upon reflective reasoning skill, not prior declarative knowledge; and (b) the hypothesis that strength of religious commitment and a belief in special creation hinder the acquisition of scientific beliefs. Although instruction produced no overall shift toward a belief in evolution, as predicted, reflective reasoning skill was significantly related to initial scientific beliefs, and reflective reasoning skill, but not prior declarative knowledge, was significantly related to gains in declarative knowledge. Reflective reasoning skill, however, was not significantly related to changes in beliefs. Also as predicted, strength of religious commitment was negatively correlated with initial belief in evolution and with a change in belief toward evolution. Interrelationships among the study's major variables, as well as educational implications, are discussed.     

EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF ASSESSING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, ITS COMPONENTS AND THEIR RELATION TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: A MATHEMATICS BASED CASE STUDY

This study investigates how different types of prior knowledge influence student achievement and how different assessment measures influence the observed effect of prior knowledge. We introduce a model of prior knowledge that distinguishes between different types of prior knowledge and uses different assessment measures to assess different types of knowledge. The sample consists of 202 mathematics students who completed the prior knowledge test during the first lesson. The student achievement was measured by the final grade on the course. The results indicate that the type of prior knowledge makes a difference: The measures assessing procedural knowledge predicted the final grades best whereas measures assessing declarative knowledge did not predict final grades. Additionally, previous study success was the best predictor of student achievement. These results are discussed in relation to assessment measures and their implications for practice.     

Gender Bias in the Prediction of College Course Performance

Is the relationship of college grades to the traditional predictors of aptitude test scores and high school grades different for men and women? The usual gender bias of underpredicting the grade point averages of women may result from gender-related course selection effects. This study controlled course selection effects by predicting single course grades rather than a composite grade from several courses. In most of the large introductory courses studied, no gender bias was found that would hold up on cross-validation in a subsequent semester. Usually, it was counterproductive to adjust grade predictions according to gender. Grade point average was predicted more accurately than single course grades     

THE VALIDITY OF ACADEMIC PREDICTORS FOR BLACK AND WHITE STUDENTS AT A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE UNIVERSITY1

High school grades and both the verbal and mathematical scales of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-V and SAT-M, respectively) were examined as predictors of college grade point average in groups divided by race and sex. Results indicated that high school grades were not correlated as highly with college grades for black males as for the other three groups, although there were no significant differences in the correlation of either SAT-V or SAT-M with college grades. Moreover, the multiple regression equation for the black male group differed from the equations for the other groups in that SAT-V is the predictor of primary importance rather than high school grades. Weights derived on a random sample of the student body caused substantial shrinkage of the multiple R only in the black male sample. Both black males and black females were significantly overpredicted by such weights. The importance of separate prediction equations for race-sex groupings was emphasized.     

The Personal Statement as an Indicator of Writing Skill: A Cautionary Note

The objective of this study was to evaluate the personal statement as an indicator of writing skill. The evaluation was based on a comparison of specially evaluated personal statements with a standardized measure of writing ability requiring examinees to write timed expository essays. A sample of prospective graduate students wrote test essays and provided copies of personal statements they had submitted for application to graduate school. A majority of the sample acknowledged receiving help in either drafting or revising their statements. Correlations of the 2 indicators (test essay and personal statement) with each of several nontest indicators of writing skill (e.g., self-reports of writing ability and grades on writing assignments) revealed that the traditional expository essay was significantly more highly related to nearly all of the indicators. It is suggested that, although the personal statement may provide certain unique and important information about applicants (and thus be valid for this purpose), its validity as an indicator of writing skill (defined as the ability to present and sustain a coherent discussion of a complex issue) needs to be better established.     

The Role of Parental Math Anxiety and Math Attitude in Their Children’s Math Achievement

The present study investigated the antecedents and consequences of children’s math anxiety and math attitude. A total of 595 students aged 10 to 15 years (5th to 10th grades) and 1 parent of each (mother or father) participated in the study. The study was conducted in India, with the study sample drawn from schools in South-West Punjab. Math anxiety of parents and their children was measured using the Mathematics Anxiety Scale Short Version (MARS-SV), the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Elementary School Students (MARS-E), and the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale for Adolescents (MARS-A). Math attitude was assessed with the Attitude Towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI). A math achievement test was constructed for each grade level based on their curriculum. Path analyses were conducted to test the suggested conceptual model, and the results indicate that parental math anxiety and math attitude act as precursors to their children’s math anxiety and math attitude and further influence the math achievement of their children.     

Chapter 3 Learning style factors and mathematics performance: Sex-related differences

This study examined the relationships among (a) sex; (b) grades in Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II; (c) mathematics learning styles and interests; and (d) scores on the PSAT-M, in a sample of high school students enrolled in Algebra II. The average grade in Algebra I was significantly higher for females than for males. Females reported significantly less interest in technical hobbies or careers than did males, less confidence in their ability to excel on mathematical tasks involving cognitive restructuring or applications, and a greater desire for structure when learning mathematics. In a sub-sample, males scored significantly higher than females on the PSAT-M. Scores on the PSAT-M were significantly related to grades in geometry but not algebra.