Evaluation versus Grading

When I was in school (grade school through college), it seemed like grades were everything.  If I received an A, life was terrific and when I received an F (yes, I did receive an F, well, 2 Fs during college), then life wasn't as much fun.  Even then, I realized something was weird about grades.  I had excellent teachers of a subject where I worked hard and ended up with a B, if I was lucky.  And, there were teachers who gave me an A and I remembered nothing about the course once the final exam was over.  So, even though everyone told me grades were important, there often was little relationship between learning and grades.

During graduate school, grades were important, but only if you maintained a B-average.  It didn't matter what your GPA was, as long as you were above a B.  That's when I began to see a difference between being evaluated and being graded.  Grades were numbers or scores to rank students in some fashion, and most of the time, the relationship between grades and future success was not evident.  Evaluations are ways to indicate if you are on track with the material.  This is where if I received a grade lower than a B, that meant I was not conversant in a particular area and that I would have to work harder in that area to succeed in grad school.


This philosophy is important in almost every aspect of the "real world."  You are evaluated on your attitudes, your performance, your attire, and your ability to handle new challenges when you work, interact with others, and among friends and family.  In our class, I evaluate student work on a variety of fronts in order to learn as much as possible able each student and the class.  In this way, I can put together class activities or adjust class instruction to make the most of the 50 minutes we have every other day.  So, I need to know how students are doing before, during, and after instruction.  This tells me how much work we have to do to cover a topic.  I want to know the preferred learning styles of the class so that I decide if worksheets or online simulations or hands-on activities will drive a point home better that another method.


This is why 46% of your total grade comes from various evaluations:  homework = what you know at any point in the coverage;  quizzes = group practice (plus attendance);  online work = independent and/or alternate "testing";  and participation = how do you contribute to your learning in a course with no textbook and using a different teaching philosophy/approach.


When all is said and done, the evaluation of a class will be turned into a grade.  This is done by looking at the average number of points earned by the class AND by determining the status of the class.  Then, that average point number is turned in a letter grade.  For example, let us say that at the end of the semester, the average number of points earned in Homework = 1234.  Next, based on my 20-plus years of teaching experience, I determine if the class is a typical (or average) class.  If so, 1234 is average or a C.  Anyone with a score close to 1234 receives a C.  Those with scores above/below 1234 receive a B/D.  Those well above/below 1234 receive an A/F.  Now, this letter grade can be combined with other grades (exams, final exam, and lab) for a course grade.  [Keep in mind, if the class does all the assignments, participates in other ways to improve their learning of physics, etc., then the class would be considered "above average."  1234 would then become a C+ or B- or whatever letter grade best describes the class overall.  In 20-plus years of teaching, it has been a rare occurrence when the class was below average.]

So, what do you do with this information?  For now, nothing except work hard.  However, what you can do with each assignment is to see how you are doing compared to the class, based on where we are in the topic coverage (beginning, middle, or end), AND on your own evaluation of your own performance.  A score of 3 out of 30 might mean you are average because everyone had close to this score at the beginning of a topic and you put down everything you knew.  However, a 3 out of 30 might also mean that at the end of a topic the class average was 24/30 and you had other obligations.  So, your 3/30 tells you have a lot of work to do to catch up OR it might mean that you are struggling in this area and you need to do other things to get back on track (visit instructor, use the Help Room, work with classmates, etc.).


I realize my approach is different.  But, it also is important to spend time each assignment to reflect on your own performance to determine what you have to do next.  At the end of each and every class I teach, I reflect on what was good or bad about the class, my approach, the activities I used, etc.  In this way, I hope to improve my teaching and the materials with which I teach.


Grading is "easy" because someone gives you a number that may or may not indicate actual learning.  Evaluation is more tricky because each person has to think about their individual performance AND to compare that with what others are doing.  One has to be honest and critical in a constructive manner.  Feel free to comment on evaluations versus grading, especially about the emphasis on personal responsibility in a course.