Nov 2, 2023·edited Nov 3, 2023Liked by Breana Bayraktar
I use a grading strategy I call the "Fair F" where I give no less than half credit just for the effort, even if the quality of work is poor. If you think about it, all the other letter grades are generally worth 10% on a 100 point system (A = 90-100%, B=80-89%, etc.. But an F is worth 60% (0-59%). Thus anything less than 50% grade is going to unfairly drag down a student's grade average in the class.
I used to use a system based on GPA values (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) but this got tricky with differently weighted assignments and students just did not understand what letter grade a given number translated into (they were constantly asking me "what letter grade is that?") And if they got 2/4 points they would freak out, thinking they failed (50%) when I'd actually considered it C quality. Also difficult from a technical standpoint: the LMS ultimately use numbers to calculate grades, even if we display them as letters and the LMS also needs to have a non-standard grading scheme created to handle such a different approach to grading work.
I always find grading discussions so interesting across contexts. In the UK, we largely mark anonymously, using a set rubric and criteria (at my last university, we even had more restricted bands, you could give a 77 but not a 75 or 76) and all marking is moderated.
I've been working within this system to focus on future focused comments, with 3 main things to work on for next time.
I use a grading strategy I call the "Fair F" where I give no less than half credit just for the effort, even if the quality of work is poor. If you think about it, all the other letter grades are generally worth 10% on a 100 point system (A = 90-100%, B=80-89%, etc.. But an F is worth 60% (0-59%). Thus anything less than 50% grade is going to unfairly drag down a student's grade average in the class.
I used to use a system based on GPA values (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) but this got tricky with differently weighted assignments and students just did not understand what letter grade a given number translated into (they were constantly asking me "what letter grade is that?") And if they got 2/4 points they would freak out, thinking they failed (50%) when I'd actually considered it C quality. Also difficult from a technical standpoint: the LMS ultimately use numbers to calculate grades, even if we display them as letters and the LMS also needs to have a non-standard grading scheme created to handle such a different approach to grading work.
I always find grading discussions so interesting across contexts. In the UK, we largely mark anonymously, using a set rubric and criteria (at my last university, we even had more restricted bands, you could give a 77 but not a 75 or 76) and all marking is moderated.
I've been working within this system to focus on future focused comments, with 3 main things to work on for next time.