Typical Methods

• Normal, Bell-Shaped Curve
• Distribution Gap Method
• Standard Deviation

Benefits

• Allows for screening students according to their performance relative to their peers.
• Useful for competitive circumstances where students need feedback as to how they compare to their peers.

Drawbacks

• Does not provide feedback as to actual content mastered by student.
• Curve arbitrary (and thus meaningless) unless tied to program needs and goals, i.e. the number of students that can eventually be accepted into higher levels of the program or a norm established over multiple years.
• Curve grade based on single class meaningless unless provided in relation to group student is being scored against.
• Discourages collaboration, as competition becomes central.

Sound Strategies

• Establish minimum achievement standards linked to content mastery and then calculate number of As, Bs, Cs, etc. based on curved tied to student's performance relative to her peers.
• Base curve on multi-year or multi-course distribution curve rather than on single class.
• Establish department standard curve.
• Weight tasks according to their importance in demonstrating course objectives.

Typical Methods

• Content Based Grade Assignments for Exams
• Learning Contracts
• Portfolios

Benefits

• Allows grade to be directly correlated to student’s achievement of defined learning objectives.
• Lowers competitiveness among students.

Drawbacks

• Can allow all students to receive the same grade and thus not provide information needed to screen students in competitive circumstances.
• Scale and objectives can miss actual abilities and possible achievements of students by being too high or too low.
• Because of tendency of learning expectations to be mismatched with real learning outcomes, encourages adhoc grade adjustments, thus contributing to meaningless grades.

Sound Strategies

• When learning objectives and actual learning outcomes are mismatched, adjust learning objectives and re-calculate rather than adjusting final grades.
• Adjust learning objectives over time as knowledge of students abilities becomes more familiar.
• Weight tasks according to their importance in demonstrating course objectives.

• Fixed Percent Scale
• Total Point Method

• Easy to calculate grades.
• Easy for students to understand.
• Consistency gives illusion of fairness.
• Reduces competition between students.

• Can allow all students to receive the same grade and thus not provide information needed to screen students in competitive circumstances.
• Fixed scales are arbitrary and thus meaningless.
• Unduly constrains curriculum development by discouraging the use of very short assignments and/or by encouraging teacher to force exam or assignment to fit into point system easily calculated into scale.

• Tie point systems explicitly with a domain of tasks, behaviors, or knowledge upon which the assessment will be based.
• Adjust scales to fit each assignment rather than adjusting assignments to fit scales.
• Weight tasks according to their importance in demonstrating course objectives.