Cumulative Grading System as a Factor of the Educational Process

Abstract

Introduction: Enhancement of the efficiency of the educational process is one of the priority objectives of educational institutions and new approaches are developed to accomplish it. In the chase for innovations, however, the internal environment of an educational organization, in which they are supposed to be implemented, is often overlooked. The study aims to identify the factors of the educational process and their influence on the effectiveness of mastering subjects and developing competencies. Materials and methods: The participants in the experiment were the first- and second-year students and the lecturers of the Department of Foreign Languages of Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University. The survey of the participants in the experiment was carried out remotely by means of Google Forms. The collected data were processed using analytical methods and tools (MO Excel, Google Forms). The results of the current examinations were compared with similar indicators of the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 academic years, which were taken from the annual reports of the Department of Foreign Languages. Results: The majority of students (72.5%) and lecturers (63.6%) noted the positive influence of the experimental grading system in terms of psychological factor. However, the study revealed a contradiction in the opinions about changing attitudes towards examination. Discussion and Conclusions: Changes made to the algorithms of the assessment of students’ performance contributed to the identification of internal trends related to the distribution of efforts made to master the subject and revise for examinations, as well as to the general approach to work, and psychological comfort during examinations.