Forgive the analogy, but it seems to me that the question really boils down
to whether you practice "between-students" or "within-students" grading of
papers. I, for one, practice the former, but in classes with several papers
(e.g., Intro), I do "up the ante" as the term goes on, expecting an
improvement in quality. Still, I attempt to grade based on criteria that
apply to all students (i.e., "between students") moreso than based on
improvement "within students." I can see an argument for either
application, although the latter does open you up to student complaints.
David W.
At 05:10 AM 4/24/99 -0500, Shirley-Anne Hensch wrote:
>With respect to the current thread on grading, I guess the point that I
>would make is that our grading scales are NOT interval and, especially in
>courses that are graded primarily on writing, the scale may "move" over the
>course of a semester. In the original post the student had complained
>because their B+ paper was "so much" better than another student's B paper.
>Clearly both students did not receive the same grade, and presumably
>(although I may be making an unfounded assumption about the marking
>protocol used by the person who originally posted this) all the "B" papers
>would be approximately equivalent in quality and all the "B+" papers would
>be approximately equivalent in quality. However, the threshold to move
>from a B to a B+ may be quite high, especially since we are nearly the top
>of our grading scale once we assign a B+. Additionally, a paper that may
>have qualified for a B or a B+ at the start of the semester, may no longer
>qualify for a B or a B+ at the end of a semester; presumably all the
>students will have shown some improvement in writing skills by that point
>in time.
>
>
>>
>>On Fri, 23 Apr 1999, Lou Manza wrote:
>>>
>>> Why would it not be possible to apply uniform grading standards across all
>>> papers within a single class? Unless I'm missing something here, as a
>>> teacher, one should set up standards for papers that are made very
clear to
>>> students, and ALL students are judged equally by these standards.
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>Shirley Hensch, Ph.D.
>Associate Professor
>Department of Psychology
>University of Wisconsin - Marshfield/Wood County
>mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
David Wasieleski, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology and Counseling
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, GA 31698
912/333-5930
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/dtwasieleski
"Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo.
The trick is to ride and make it to the bell..."
--John Fogerty
"Rock and Roll Girls"
