It is clear to me that the whole grading system is a mess, and I don't know
what to do about it.
Dick Heckathorn says he analyzed his grades and found that he was grading
about one grade level too low. That's the reputation I have. But my
interpretation would be that everyone else is grading one grade level too
high. I am trying to maintain an average grade (for average students) of C
or maybe C+ while everyone else is maintaining an average grade (for average
students) of B to B+.
Does it make sense for me to buck the trend? I don't know. But here are
some things I do know.
(1) The dividing line between a B- and a C+ on my grading scale is 70%. The
dividing line between C- and D+ is 55%.
This means that students getting a B- or higher can successfully do 70% or
more of the average problems at the back of the chapter in the textbook; and
they can do about 70% (or better) of the problems I place on an exam. A lot
of textbooks mark the problems as easy, moderate, or difficult. I assign
moderate problems for homework. My exams have mostly easy problems with a
few moderate problems.
So here is one way to ask the question: If a student (given lots of time and
open book) can solve about 70% of the moderate problems at the end of the
chapter, what grade should that student get? And/or, on a 2-hour
closed-book exam if the student can solve about 70% of mostly easy problems,
what grade should that student get?
(2) Here's another way to ask the question. If a student is performing at
the 70% level, does s/he have a future as a physical scientist or engineer?
If we would say that people getting A and B grades in a field could likely
have a career in that field, and people earning C grades or lower ought to
rethink their career goals, then I have to say I am a bit pessimistic about
students at the low end of my B range. My B-minus students are performing
at the 70-75% level. Will these students have careers in physics? Of
course it depends upon what type of physics career we're talking about, so
there might be a range of answers... but students performing at the 70-75%
level in college are not likely to be real successful in graduate programs
unless they somehow shift into a higher gear.
(3) At Bluffton College (like most places) the science department has some
courses with substantial populations of students majoring in other fields.
For example, our college as a dietetics program, and these students have to
take a slug of chemistry and biology. They continually complain about the
science grades. They are getting A and B grades in their dietetics courses
and general-education courses, but they are getting C grades in science.
But when we ask the American Dietetics Association for guidelines about the
types of things the students are supposed to "master" in science, it's the
same thing as we're trying to teach to our chemistry and biology majors.
Hence we think ADA is telling us to use the same grading standards on the
dietetics students as we put on our chemistry and biology majors (in the
introductory science courses).
For example, if the ADA says the dietetics students should know x,y,z things
about organic chemistry, and if those are exactly the things we are teaching
in our course, then when the student earns a grade of C, that means s/he
only mastered about 60-65% of the material that ADA says dietetics students
should know. Should that student be in a dietetics program?
(4) We are now in an age of proficiency tests. This started in the high
schools, but has already migrated to the college level. Ohio has a set of
standards in place for grades K through 12, and the North Central
Association (which accredits our college) has requirements for assessment
based upon standardized scores. Additionally, our future teachers have to
pass proficiency exams in their teaching fields. The grades on these
teacher-proficiency exams will be published. Any college having a poor
record of its teacher candidates passing the proficiency exam will have to
change rapidly or be drummed out of business. Our teacher education
department is very frightened about this.
According to your grading scale, how will your B students do on a state-wide
or nation-wide standardized exam? They had better do a good job, because
the scores are likely to be published, and the reputation (and maybe the
funding) of your school will depend upon this. If your students earn grades
of C and D in your courses and then perform in a mediocre fashion on the
required exams, people won't be surprised. However, if your A and B
students do poorly on these exams, you've got some explaining to do.
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817