Re: [Phys-L] ungrading

["Prof. Keith S. Taber" <kst24@cam.ac.uk>]

Dear Joe

I can see sense in that. I recall there was some research done here 
which suggested A level grades (the usual criteria used in university 
entrance for students coming straight form schools and colleges) did not 
especially correlate with final degree classes (this was decades ago, 
and I do not have the citation), and so simply raising entrance grades 
would not necessarily improve standards of outcomes on degree courses 
(even though those A level exams supposedly test a range of types of 
learning objectives). Of course, study context is different, people 
develop at different and irregular rates, motivation may change… etc.… 
so how strong a correlation one might wish to see is an open question. 
Also, here, students normally study 3-4 subjects for Advanced level, and 
then commonly take a single honours degree largely specialising in one 
discipline.

Even so, the system you describe seems to put a lot of weight on 
informal contacts and personal (perhaps sometimes even tacit) knowledge. 
That does not mean it is necessary unfair or biased but I suspect it 
would fall foul of various legal or regulatory frameworks here (i.e., it 
would be seen not to have sufficient checks and balances /to be 
confident/ that it was not open to abuse.) Of course, I write this from 
Cambridge which I've read (?) a century ago had a system which avoided 
questions being raised about such issues - as there were several route 
to admission, one of which simply involved the family paying a 
sufficient sum.

Best wishes

Keith



On 04/04/2022 12:44, Joseph Bellina via Phys-l wrote:
> While there is competition by students to get into what they consider the best schools there is also by colleges and universities for students at a time when enrollments are falling and some schools are at risk.
> Admission departments work to attract students by maintaining a network of connections in secondary schools. That network includes knowing the track record of student from the schools
> So the process is not just weeding out but also gathering in. There is a concern that standardized tests do not predict more than success in the first year of college and do not predict how well people will succeed in the complex work world most will enter. I don’t know if this applies to those hoping to become scientists
>
> Best
>
> Joe
>
> Sent from my iPhone
--

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into nature…after they have written large volumes of some very slender 
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<“https://science-education-research.com/commonplace/”;>


Dr. Keith S. Taber

Emeritus Professor of Science Education
University of Cambridge
http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/staff/taber.html


Senior Member
Homerton College, Cambridge


https://science-education-research.com



Some recent postings include

Can deforestation stop indigenous groups starving? 
<https://science-education-research.com/can-deforestation-stop-indigenous-groups-starving/>

The heart-stopping queen: An analogy for a paralysing poison. 
<https://science-education-research.com/the-heart-stopping-queen/>

What COVID really likes. Researching viral preferences. 
<https://science-education-research.com/what-covid-really-likes/>

Of mostly natural origin. Is your shampoo of natural, unnatural, or 
supernatural origin? 
<“https://science-education-research.com/of-mostly-natural-origin/”;>

Not a great experiment…What was wrong with The Loneliness Experiment? 
<“https://science-education-research.com/not-a-great-experiment/”;>

We didn’t start the fire (it was the virus). A simile for viral 
infection. 
<“https://science-education-research.com/we-didnt-start-the-fire-it-was-the-virus/”;>





Recently published scholarship:

*Taber, K. S. (2019). Experimental research into teaching innovations: 
responding to methodological and ethical challenges. *
/Studies in Science Education./ doi:10.1080/03057267.2019.1658058

*/The Nature of the Chemical Concept/*/: Re-constructing Chemical 
Knowledge in Teaching and Learning/
Royal Society of Chemistry, 
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/ebook/978-1-78262-460-8

*Taber, K. S. (2021). The Challenge to Educational Reforms during a 
Global Emergency: The Case of Progressive Science Education./C.E.P.S. 
Journal/, 11 (Special issue), 1-21. doi:doi: 10.26529/cepsj.1109*
Recent publications primarily for teachers:

*/Foundations for Teaching Chemistry/*/: Chemical knowledge for teaching/
Routledge, ISBN: 9780815377740

*/MasterClass in Science Education/*/: Transforming Teaching and Learning/
Bloomsbury Academic, ISBN: 9781474289412


Editor-in-Chief: */RSC Advances in Chemistry Education Series/*
Royal Society of Chemistry Book Series
Proposals for Advances in Chemistry Education volumes (edited or 
monograph) are invited. Scholarly books on all aspects of chemistry 
education are being considered for publication in the series ( 
https://science-education-research.com/advances-in-chemistry-education/ )




*ECLIPSE - /Exploring Conceptual Learning, Integration and Progression 
in Science Education/*
https://science-education-research.com/projects/eclipse/



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