Grading Student Work

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Grading Student Work

• Faculty Development Exercise
• Tuesday 15th April 2008
• 18.30 - 20.00

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AURs MISSION

• The American University of Rome is a quality
  institution of higher education that offers the
  best of the American approach to learning. Rome
  is our classroom. Our international community
  strives to prepare students from around the world
  to live and work across cultures.

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Institutional Outcomes Assessment Report 2006-2007

• Overall AUR Grading Profile
• There is some evidence from the data that
  approximately as many A grades as B grades are
  given and that the institutional distribution
  curve is approaching flat across the A, A-, B
  and B range (all bands within the 14-18). The
  institutional average is that between 14 and 18
  of all grades awarded fall into each of the four
  upper bands (14-18 A 14-18 A- 14-18 B
  14-18 B-) each year.

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Institutional Outcomes Assessment Report 2006-2007
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Institutional Outcomes Assessment Report 2006-2007

• Faculty may wish to consider whether grading
  discriminates sufficiently between students in
  these bands and whether there might be a tendency
  towards grade inflation in the A to A- range.
• Using norm referenced grading we would expect a
  smaller number of students to achieve A grades
  than B grades. However, AUR sets learning goals
  and thus employs criterion-referenced grading.
  Students may be achieving the learning goals (the
  criteria) set for each course in such a way as to
  justify the institutional profile described
  above.

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Norm-Referenced vs. Criterion-Referenced Grading

• Norm-referenced Grading
• Students are measured in relationship to each
  other (eg. the top 10 of students receive an A,
  the next 20 a B etc). This grading system rests
  on the assumption that the level of student
  performance will not vary much from class to
  class. The instructor usually determines the
  percentage of students assigned to each grade,
  though this may be influenced by departmental
  policy.

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Norm-Referenced vs. Criterion-Referenced Grading

• Criterion-Referenced Grading
• Criterion-referenced tests measure how well
  students do relative to pre-determined
  performance levels.
• Eg. Course Learning Objectives measured through a
  Rubric

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The Provosts List
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Goals for this Session

• Explore and begin to address possible grade
  inflation
• Achieve some consensus on what A, B and C grades
  mean for the university as a whole
• Achieve (or reiterate) consensus within
  departments on what A, B and C grades mean
• Identify any appropriate actions to be taken at
  university, department or course level in the
  light of discussion.

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What does an A Grade mean at AUR?

• QUESTIONS
• The Rubric provided as paper copy may be of use
  in this exercise.
• Why dont we give more Cs?
• What pressures are there on faculty to give
  higher grades?
• What does an A grade look like? If using a rubric
  like the one provided how rigidly would you stick
  to the criteria it contains? How much flexibility
  and discretion would you use?
• Is a shared understanding of what an A grade
  means university-wide possible or desirable?

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Grading within Departments

• Italian Studies

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Grading within Departments (1)

• Currently within your department
• How is a shared understanding of what an A, B or
  C grade looks like developed?
• How do adjunct faculty know at what level they
  should be grading?

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Trends in Grading within the Department
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Trends in Grading within the Department (2)

• Look at the trends in grading within your
  department over the last three years and comment.
• Comment on trends in your department by
  comparison with other departments.
• Comment on trends within your department compared
  to those for AUR as a whole.

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Trends in Grading within the Department (3)

• As a Department are you comfortable with these
  trends? (Comment)
• Are there any particular factors influencing the
  distribution curve of grades within your
  department? (Eg. certain courses where high/low
  grades are inevitable, or very likely to occur?
  Seniors taking 100-level courses? Participation,
  or other grade components, influencing course
  grades?)
• Would more (or different) data be useful to you
  in analyzing the distribution of grades?

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Grading within the Department Next Steps (4)

• Would a norming exercise of the kind described by
  Italian Studies be of use in your department?
• What steps (if any) do you recommend taking to
  address any grading issues that have arisen
  during this discussion?
• Do you have any suggestions as to how we might
  develop this evenings work further?
• Any other comments about this Faculty Development
  Exercise?