CISC474 Activity A02, 06S

Thoughts on how to Assign Course Grades

What you need to do

1. Read the following passage
2. On your own paper, write answers to questions 1-3 at the bottom of end of this handout. Alternatively, you may submit your answers by email to pconrad@udel.edu, with the EXACT SUBJECT LINE as follows, and with cc to oanat@udel.edu

   CISC474 06S A02
   
   
   

Weimer on Course Grading

A quote from pages 2-3 of Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice by Maryellen Weimer (published by Jossey-Bass, July 2002, ISBN: 0-7879-5646-5)

In this passage, Maryellen Weimer discusses a change in grading policy she made in an entry-level speech communication course. She was teaching the course again for the first time after fifteen years of not being in the classroom.

That first semester back, I tried this approach. I designed a beginning public speaking course that had only one required assignment: students had to give one speech. The rest of the syllabus presented a cafeteria of assignment options: a learning log, group projects of various sorts, credit for participation and the analysis of it, critiques of peers, conducting an interview or being interviewed or both, and conventional multiple-choice exams. Each assignment had a designated point value and evaluation criteria. Students could opt for as many or as few assignments as they wished, given the course grade they desired. Each assignment had a due date, and once past, that assignment could not be completed.

Initially, students were totally confused. I remember arguing with one about whether the exams were required. Here is how the conversation went:

"They must be required," the student insisted. "If the test is optional, no one will take it."

"Sure they will," I replied. "Students need points to pass the class."

"But what if I don't take it?"

"Fine. Do other assignments, and get your points that way."

"But what do I do on exam day?"

"Don't come to class if you aren't taking the exam."

Several students asked me to identify the assignments they should do, and virtually everyone wanted some sort of approval once they finally decided.

But what happened the rest of that first semester took my breath away. I had no attendance policy, but better attendance than in any class I could remember. More (not all, but most) students started to work hard early in the course, and some students determinedly announced that they would do every assignment if that was what it took to get enough points for an A. I was stunned by how willing they were to work, and with no complaints. Less concrete but no less real was the change in atmosphere and energy in the class. These students were committed to the class; they appeared genuinely interested in the content. They asked more questions, sustained discussion longer, and in the end disagreed with me and other students far more than I remembered my former beginning students doing. It was not instructional nirvana, but it was a decided improvement, and I was motivated to continue refining this approach.

On pages 206-207, Weimer gives an example of the type of syllabus she suggests:

And Finally, About Developing a Game Plan
for the Course

For the purposes of planning, circle the assignments you are considering, and then total the points possible. Be realistic. It is highly unlikely that you will get all the points possible for the assignments. Check your total with point totals needed for each grade. Be sure that you're planning to do enough assignments to get the grade you desire in the course. Keep track of your points as the course progresses (a points grid sheet will be provided subsequently) so that you will know if you need to add more assignments.

Test 1	80 points
Test 2	80 points
Informative or persuasive speech and preparation sheet	60 points
Interviews	30 points
Study group test bonus	? points
Study group analysis paper	30 points
Interview group experience	60 points
Learning Log, 22 entries at 10 points per entry	220 points
Speech Critiques	80 points
Participation	50 points
Participation analysis paper	50 points
Attendance bonus	25 points
	765 points TOTAL

Grades

Grades for this course are assigned according to the following scale:

525 and above	A	378-412	C
499-524	A-	343-377	C-
482-498	B+	309-342	D
465-481	B	292-308	D-
413-447	C+	291 and below	F

Questions for Discussion

1. Put yourself in the position of a student in this class. What advantages do you see to such a sylllabus?
2. Again, from the standpoint of a student in this class, what concerns do you have about such a syllabus?
3. Are there any things you think could be modified or clarified to make a syllabus like this more helpful to your learning?
4. Compare and contrast the grading scheme described above (by Weimer) with the one that was used last year in CISC474. Which type of grading scheme do you think would lead you to a better chance of success, and why?
   
   (The "required assignment" in CISC474 would not be to "give one speech"—it would be to participate in two group projects in which you build a working web application.)

Excerpt from CISC474 Spring 2005 Syllabus (for comparison):

Grading

Final course grades will be determined as follows:

In addition, the final course grade may be no more than 10 points (one letter grade) higher than the exam average.

Some activities in the G01, H01, P01 activities will be graded with point values (out of 20 points, 50 points, 100 points, etc.). Minimum guaranteed grades for such assignments and for exams will be determined by the following point scale:

A-	90 grade<93	A	93 grade100
B-	80 grade<83	B	83 grade<87	B+	87 grade<90
C-	70 grade<73	C	73 grade<77	C+	77 grade<80
D-	60 grade<63	D	63 grade<67	D+	67 grade<70
				F	grade<60

Other activies will be graded with check/check plus/check minus grading. The exact conversion formula from check/check plus/check minus grading to numeric scores will be determined by the instructor at the end of the semester, and will be consistent for the entire class. The following are minimum guarantees, and expected maximum values:

grade	symbol	criteria	minimum	maximum
check plus	+	exceeds expecations	90	100
check		meets expectations	80	90
check minus	-	acceptable but does not completely meet all expectations	70	80
zero	0		0	0

Finally, scores determined according to the criteria above are minimum guaranteed grades. The instructor reserves the right to relax these criteria (i.e. change them in the students' favor) on a class-wide basis if it is determined that the grades determined by these criteria do not reflect actual student acheivement.