A Short History of Grading Practices at Dalhousie University (1901-2021)

Grading practices at Dalhousie University have changed considerably over the past 120 years. From 1901 until the early 1970s, Dalhousie used a variant of the British system. Initially, a grade of 65% or higher was required for distinction. In 1937, Dalhousie moved to a 2-category system (Distinction vs. Ordinary Pass) and in 1942 the distinction grade cutoff was lowered to 60%. By the late 1940s, the British system returns, “Second Division” was subdivided into Seconds and Thirds, and First Division required an 80% or higher. By the late 1960s, there were conversions between American letter grades (A, B, C, D), divisions, and percentage grades. Moreover, there was a 4pt “merit point” system that served as a prototype to Grade Point Averages (GPA). Experimental teaching and grading practices were explored in the 1970s. Officially, percentage grades were abolished and replaced with an 11-point letter grade scale from A+ to F. Unofficially, most professors and departments continued to use percentage-to-letter conversion schemes that were highly idiosyncratic, though they were eventually standardized within (but not across) departments. In the 1990s, the 4.3 GPA system was standardized university-wide largely because it was thought to give students a competitive advantage for federal scholarships. In the 2010s, Dalhousie standardized percentage conversion schemes across all departments into one unified Common Grade Scale, partially due to GPA requirements for scholarships and graduate schools. Overall, most grading changes in the past 120 years were implemented for the external communication value of grades rather than for their pedagogical value.

Prospects, challenges and evaluation of the BSc in EEE programme for diploma in engineering holders

The acquisition of a BSc in EEE is a requirement for a successful career in engineering. However, not all students in Bangladesh have the opportunity to gain admission into degree programmes. The aim of this research is to report the challenges that the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering faced in attracting students to the BSc in EEE programme, as well as how they assessed and evaluated the students. The research was a case study conducted in the fall semester of 2020 during the period of online education due to the COVID-2019 pandemic. Various examination and assessment tools were used for the student performance evaluation. Some of the statistical parameters like average, maximum and median were used for the comparative analysis of the student performances on online quizzes, assignments and the obtained letter grades of the regular and evening programmes. It was found that in most of the cases evening programme students performed better in the same course. Keywords: Diploma in Engineering, evening programme, online teaching–learning, performance assessment and evaluation.

Comparative Analysis of Generation Z Era Students’ Overall Grades and Course Satisfaction of a Basic Floral Design Course Taught Fully Face-to-face versus an Online Hybrid Format

As Generation Z (born 1995–2012) students replace Millennial (born 1981–94) students on college campuses, instructors may begin to evaluate and structure their courses based on how this new generation best learns. Generation Z students were exposed to such things as the internet, smart phones, personal computers, and laptops since infancy and, hence, are very comfortable with technology and multitasking. The purpose of this study was to compare students’ overall grades and perceptions of the course and instructor in a face-to-face vs. an online/hybrid basic floral design course taken by a majority Generation Z student population. The face-to-face course consisted of live lectures that met twice per week for 50 min at an assigned time; reading materials and standard lecture slides were used. The hybrid course had content placed online within weekly modules and released to students in an asynchronous manner each Monday. Both versions of the course had a face-to-face laboratory that met once per week. Comparisons of grades between the face-to-face and hybrid course formats were made using analysis of variance tests. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine if there were statistically significant differences in the way students in each course format answered the end of semester course and instructor evaluation survey. Of those that took the course, a majority [466 (98.3%)] was between the ages 18 and 24 years, within the Generation Z era. When comparing grades within this group, it was found students in the hybrid course received more A and B letter grades overall [223 (91%)] compared with the students of the same age range in the face-to-face course [198 (88.7%)]. Overall, seniors and juniors scored higher grades in both the hybrid and face-to-face course when compared with the sophomore and freshmen within the same class. No significant difference was found between the face-to-face and hybrid students’ responses to any of the 11 questions on the course and instructor evaluation survey. Results showed an overall high level of satisfaction (4.50) for both the face-to-face and hybrid format.

Beyond Letter Grades: A Case Study in Developing an Evaluation System to Generate Project Performance Transcripts

Traditional academic transcripts are usually restricted to demonstrating stu-dents’ achievements and experiences during college life. As an example of extended transcripts, this study aims to introduce the development process behind an end-user product for a project performance evaluation system (PPES), which supports conducting project performance evaluations and generates project performance transcripts at a university. The first part of the study described the design process of the PPES. A user group of instructors, which continuously provided feedback on the prototype design, was formed. Consequently, the PPES was successfully developed and several main inter-faces of the PPES were presented. The second part of the study analyzed user satisfaction with the PPES and the project performance transcripts it pro-duced. In general, students perceived the project performance transcripts positively, and instructors were satisfied with both the PPES and its tran-scripts. The implications of developing a project performance evaluation sys-tem were discussed.

Assessing Music Lab Projects

Creative project-based learning poses unique challenges for assessment: open-enrollment music technology classes must serve students with widely varying levels of prior knowledge and skills, there are no standardized guidelines for evaluating music technology projects, and it is impossible to evaluate creative work objectively in general. Project-based educators must therefore apply as much creativity to assessment as they apply to project design. This chapter suggests ways to balance the necessity of giving grades against a desire to build students’ intrinsic motivation, such as de-emphasizing letter grades and numerical scores in favor of verbal feedback. It also discusses how to create a classroom culture of constructive feedback, thereby introducing students to the methods and practices used by creative professionals. It gives strategies for modeling the kind of close listening students should be able to do for themselves, and for giving and receiving criticism without being excessively judgmental or defensive.

By the Letter of Law? The Effects of Administrative Adjudication for Resolving Disputes in NYC’s Restaurant Grading Initiative

Administrative adjudication can serve as a quasi-judicial forum for resolving disputes resulting from government regulations. New York City recently required restaurants to post letter grades reflecting their compliance with food safety regulations and incorporated an easily accessible administrative adjudication system into its policy design. This study examines the implementation of this feature of the policy by using a regression discontinuity framework to explore the effects of the grading policy on adjudication processes and regulatory outcomes. Quantitative data included 222,527 food safety inspection records (2007–2014); qualitative data included interviews, observations, and document review. Restaurants were more likely to have violations reduced and grades improved at adjudication when grades were at stake. Moreover, adjudication outcomes were highly sensitive to score differences near grade cut-points. Professional representatives helped restaurants to negotiate the interpretation of rules in the quasi-judicial proceedings, softening rigidity of regulations. Representatives’ expertise was consistent with being “repeat players,” which may distort the use of such forums to ensure justice and fairness. This study illuminates the ramifications of including alternative dispute resolution systems in the implementation of regulatory policies.

Grade Sensitivity and the Economics Major at a Women’s College

We use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the causal effect of letter grades in introductory courses on the probability of choosing an economics major at Wellesley College, a highly selective women's college. We find that women just above letter-grade cutoffs are 18 percentage points more likely to major in economics than women just below, a 50 percent increase. The effects are larger among financial aid recipients. Grade sensitivity among women is not explained by the presence of male students or instructors; it is more plausibly explained by lower precollege preferences for the major and gender-specific responses to noisy signals like grades.

Choosing How to Choose

“Majority rule” seems like the fairest and best voting process imaginable, yet it simply doesn’t work in many cases. Dozens of different voting rules have been proposed to assemble the preferences of individuals into a collective group decision. Some use rank-order ballots. Some use rating scales (like “stars” for Uber drivers or amazon.com purchases). Some use letter grades like those assigned by teachers to students. This chapter reviews over a dozen different voting methods, showing how and why they can lead to different choices even with the same set of voter preferences using a simple example where 19 people (e.g., at a conference together somewhere) vote to decide where to have dinner—an American, a Brazilian, a Chinese, or an Indian restaurant. The powerful conclusion emerges that it is the voting method, not the voters’ preferences, that determines the choice.

Effect of Delivery Format on Student Outcomes and Perceptions of a Veterinary Medicine Course: Synchronous Versus Asynchronous Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted instruction at many veterinary schools to switch to an emergency remote teaching format to prevent viral transmission associated with in-person synchronous lectures. This study surveyed student perspectives and academic performance in a pre-planned online second-year veterinary toxicology course given at North Carolina State University in Spring 2020. This course relied on asynchronous narrated presentations for content delivery. This method of delivery predated the pandemic and was used throughout the course. Academic performance and patterns of access to materials in the online course was compared with the access patterns and performance of students given classroom-based synchronous teaching in Spring 2019. Assessments evaluated in this study were identical across courses. Students’ academic performance was unaffected by delivery method. Lack of instructor interaction was an important perceived barrier in the asynchronous course. Asynchronous course materials were uniformly accessed across all days of the week, while supplemental materials for the face-to-face course showed a weekly pattern. Moving from letter grades to pass/fail did not change access frequency to supplemental course materials but led to decreased video usage in the asynchronous course. Results suggest that although some veterinary students perceived the switch in delivery format negatively, the method of delivery did not adversely affect performance in this preclinical course.