Some subscribers to Phys-L might be interested in a recent
discussion-list post "Assessment in Higher Education (was Re:
Grading, Evaluation and Bonus Points)" [Hake (2012)]. The abstract
reads:
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ABSTRACT: Chris Rust (2012), in a POD post "The unscholarly use of
numbers in our assessment practices; what will make us change?" at
<http://bit.ly/PIwxUd>, raised the "fundamental question . . . what
are marks, points or grades actually meant to represent?"
Consistent with Rust's concern for meaning of grades, pre/post
testing - see e.g., <http://bit.ly/aH2JQN> with Concept Inventories
<http://bit.ly/dARkDY> has strongly suggested that most course grades
in traditional passive-student introductory physics lecture classes
(not to mention most "Student Evaluations of Teaching"- see e.g., at
<http://bit.ly/jLZaz5> are essentially *meaningless* as gauges of
students' *higher-order* learning, since:
(a) students in such courses attain pre-to-posttest gains that
average only about 23% of the *maximum* possible gain; while at the
same time
(b) it's probably safe to say that well over half of the students in
those courses had received course grades of A, B, or C, normally (but
erroneously) considered to mean, respectively, "excellent," "good,"
and "fair."
Rust (2012) references his earlier article "Towards a scholarship of
assessment" [Rust (2007)], with a preview at <http://bit.ly/RErhV7>
in which he stated "IT IS VITAL THAT WE EXPLICITLY ARTICULATE AND
ESTABLISH A SCHOLARSHIP OF ASSESSMENT, WHICH SHOULD BE AT THE VERY
HEART OF OUR SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING" . . . .[[my CAPS:
NO! the CAPS do NOT mean that Rust was "shouting"]]. . . . As a guide
to such articulation, I recommend Peggy Maki's excellent book
"Assessing for Learning: Building a Sustainable Commitment Across
the Institution" <http://bit.ly/j1hTeW>.
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"What we assess is what we value. We get what we assess,
and if we don't assess it, we won't get it."
Lauren Resnick [quoted by Grant Wiggins (1990)]
REFERENCES [URL's shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and accessed on 05 Sept 2012.
Hake, R.R. 2012. "Assessment in Higher Education (was Re: Grading,
Evaluation and Bonus Points)," online on the OPEN AERA-L archives at
<http://bit.ly/TXF4nx>. Post of 5 Sep 2012 12:12:19 -0700 to AERA-L
and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post are being
transmitted to several discussion lists and are also on my blog
"Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/Q5DmQ4> with a provision for
comments.
Wiggins, G. 1990. "The Truth May Make You Free, But the Test May Keep
You Imprisoned: Toward Assessment Worthy of the Liberal Arts," online
at <http://bit.ly/a7g09T> on the MAA's SAUM (Supporting Assessment in
Undergraduate Mathematics) page "Getting Started With Assessment"
<http://bit.ly/LR1Exe>.