dennis roberts wrote:
> grading projects for a first assignment REreminds me that ... some students
> go way above and beyond the call of duty when doing projects ... in my
> case, they have to download a file ... do some analyses ... and then do
> some write up of what they found.
>
> now, some go to alot to trouble to do very nice documents in a word
> processor and have gone to fancy extents ... whereas others will use
> (minitab is the package in this case) minitab ... and do all their work in
> it (which is possible) and turn in an acceptable document ... say the right
> things, etc.
>
> the QUALITY of the document is not a gradable criterion (in my system ...
> maybe it should be) ... but, how do any of you deal with this sort of thing
> ... whether it be a document to be turned in or some other assignment ...
> some just go WAY over what is required ...
>
> of course, penn state has no A+ grade category .. !!!
>
Grading projects is difficult, but it has become easier for me ever since I
have adopted the "dimensions" approach.
I like to give them about ten "dimensions" to shoot for, and
then sum the ten to get the final grade. Some dimensions, like "correct
analysis" and "correct interpretations" get a lot more weight.
"Professional appearance" is a good dimension to include. After all, if they
produce reports in the "real world",
they should have a professional appearance.
Another dimension I use is "completeness". This one is a double-edged sword -
they have to include enough analysis to be convincing, but extraneous "padding"
counts against them.
I would not complain about having too many good students! It does bring back
the issue of "grading on the curve", though. Anyone want to re-start that
thread?
Peter
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