Mastery Learning and the Decreasing Variability Hypothesis

Livingston, Jennifer A.; Gentile, J. Ronald

doi:10.1080/00220671.1996.9944447

“…No F grades were recorded for either course, and there were no withdrawals because university rules do not permit students to withdraw after the conclusion of the second week of the term. Similar increases in final course grade distributions between the specifications and points-based grading systems have been reported in other implementations of specifications grading. , The increase in course grades has been postulated to result from an emphasis on the mastery learning aspects of the grading system. − The higher final grades in our course using a specifications grading system could indicate that students were better able to meet course outcomes because they were provided opportunities for mastery, but we are not able to determine the cause of higher student grades because assessments in the points-based version of the course were less clearly tied to SLOs.…”

Section: Pilot Implementation Study Outcomessupporting

confidence: 61%

“…17,24 The increase in course grades has been postulated to result from an emphasis on the mastery learning aspects of the grading system. [61][62][63] The higher final grades in our course using a specifications grading system could indicate that students were better able to meet course outcomes because they were provided opportunities for mastery, but we are not able to determine the cause of higher student grades because assessments in the points-based version of the course were less clearly tied to SLOs.…”

Section: Comparison Of Grade Distributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing and Implementing a Specifications Grading System in an Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Howitz

¹

,

McKnelly

²

,

Link

³

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Large, multi-section laboratory courses are particularly challenging when managing grading with as many as 35 teaching assistants (TAs). Traditional grading systems using point-based rubrics lead to significant variations in how individual TAs grade, which necessitates the use of curving across laboratory sections. Final grade uncertainty perpetuates student anxieties and disincentivizes a collaborative learning environment, so we adopted an alternative grading system, called specifications grading. In this system each student knows exactly what level of proficiency they must demonstrate to earn their desired course grade. Higher grades require demonstrating mastery of skills and content at defined higher levels. Each students' grade is solely dependent on the work they produce rather than the performance of other students. We piloted specifications grading in the smaller, third quarter course of the lower division organic chemistry laboratory series held during a summer term. Open-ended questions were chosen to gather student and TA perceptions of the new grading system. TAs felt that the new grading system reduced the weekly grading time because it was less ambiguous. Responses from students about the nature of the grading system were mixed. Their perceptions indicate that initial buy-in and multiple reminders about the bigger picture of the grading system will be essential to the success of this grading system on a larger scale. File list (2) download file view on ChemRxiv CHEMRXIV_REVISED2-Developing and Implementing a ... (1.17 MiB) download file view on ChemRxiv Supporting Information.pdf (441.79 KiB)

show abstract

“…This discrepancy in final course grades between the two grading systems could indicate that students are better able to meet course outcomes, or possibly that we must adjust our final grade requirements so they are more stringent. [59][60][61] Figure 3. Grade distributions of a previous iteration of the course using a points-based system and the current course with the specifications grading system.…”

Section: Comparison Of Grade Distributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing and Implementing a Specifications Grading System in an Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Howitz¹,

McKnelly²,

Link³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

<p>Large, multi-section laboratory courses are particularly challenging when managing grading with as many as 35 teaching assistants (TAs). Traditional grading systems using point-based rubrics lead to significant variations in how individual TAs grade, which necessitates the use of curving across laboratory sections. Final grade uncertainty perpetuates student anxieties and disincentivizes a collaborative learning environment, so we adopted an alternative grading system, called specifications grading. In this system each student knows exactly what level of proficiency they must demonstrate to earn their desired course grade. Higher grades require demonstrating mastery of skills and content at defined higher levels. Each students’ grade is solely dependent on the work they produce rather than the performance of other students. We piloted specifications grading in the smaller, third quarter course of the lower division organic chemistry laboratory series held during a summer term. Open-ended questions were chosen to gather student and TA perceptions of the new grading system. TAs felt that the new grading system reduced the weekly grading time because it was less ambiguous. Responses from students about the nature of the grading system were mixed. Their perceptions indicate that initial buy-in and multiple reminders about the bigger picture of the grading system will be essential to the success of this grading system on a larger scale.</p>

show abstract

“…17,24 The increase in course grades has been postulated to result from an emphasis on the mastery learning aspects of the grading system. [61][62][63] The higher final grades in our course using a specifications grading system could indicate that students were better able to meet course outcomes because they were provided opportunities for mastery, but we are not able to determine the cause of higher student grades because assessments in the points-based version of the course were less clearly tied to SLOs.…”

Section: Comparison Of Grade Distributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing and Implementing a Specifications Grading System in an Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Howitz¹,

McKnelly²,

Link

³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

<p>Large, multi-section laboratory courses are particularly challenging when managing grading with as many as 35 teaching assistants (TAs). Traditional grading systems using point-based rubrics lead to significant variations in how individual TAs grade, which necessitates the use of curving across laboratory sections. Final grade uncertainty perpetuates student anxieties and disincentivizes a collaborative learning environment, so we adopted an alternative grading system, called specifications grading. In this system each student knows exactly what level of proficiency they must demonstrate to earn their desired course grade. Higher grades require demonstrating mastery of skills and content at defined higher levels. Each students’ grade is solely dependent on the work they produce rather than the performance of other students. We piloted specifications grading in the smaller, third quarter course of the lower division organic chemistry laboratory series held during a summer term. Open-ended questions were chosen to gather student and TA perceptions of the new grading system. TAs felt that the new grading system reduced the weekly grading time because it was less ambiguous. Responses from students about the nature of the grading system were mixed. Their perceptions indicate that initial buy-in and multiple reminders about the bigger picture of the grading system will be essential to the success of this grading system on a larger scale.</p>

show abstract

Mastery Learning and the Decreasing Variability Hypothesis

Cited by 8 publications

References 14 publications

Developing and Implementing a Specifications Grading System in an Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Developing and Implementing a Specifications Grading System in an Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Developing and Implementing a Specifications Grading System in an Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Developing and Implementing a Specifications Grading System in an Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About