Posted: May 25, 2021
Ted Forringer is Assistant Department Head of Physics.
The Challenges with the Standard Grading System:
As faculty, we are all familiar with what I would call the "standard grading system," in which we give partial credit for multiple assignments and the final grade is determined by the weighted average of the individual assignment grades. I want to suggest that this grading system has several challenges that can be addressed by switching to mastery grading.
Mastery Grading:
From my syllabus: "Rather than assigning partial credit and averaging your quiz grades, each quiz will be graded ‘mastered’ or ‘not mastered.’ To master a quiz, you have to show A-level work. If you fail to master your quiz on the first try, you can earn extra attempts. Your final grade is determined by the number of quizzes that you master. Mastering a quiz on your 2nd or 3rd try counts like mastering on your first try" (emphasis in original).
The key points in mastery grading are:
Benefits of Mastery Grading:
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control
Nilson, Linda B. Specification Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time. Stylus Publishing, LLC, Sterling, VA. 2015.
Tsoi, Mai Yin; Anzovino, Mary E.; Erickson, Amy H. Lin; Forringer, Edward R.; Henary, Emily; Lively, Angela; Morton, Michael S.; Perell-Gerson, Karen; Perrine, Stan; Villanueva, Omar; Whitney, MaryGeorge; and Woodbridge, Cynthia M. (2019) "Variations in Implementation of Specifications Grading in STEM Courses," Georgia Journal of Science, Vol. 77, No. 2, Article 10.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.gaacademy.org/gjs/vol77/iss2/10