Radford Neal wrote:
> o While wise students will study for the joy of it, or for the eventual
> practical benefit, not all students are wise, so we paternalistically
> motivate them with grades to do what they ought to do anyway.
> Making grades proportional to effort clearly makes sense for this.
Well, not entirely. Two thoughts:
(1) Making grade [weights] proportional to effort alone would seem to
assume that grades are used ONLY as a motivator. This is not possible
in the long run, as the value of grades lies entirely in the fact that
other institutions, future employers, etc. understand them to be used
primarily to assess achievement.
(2) It's not clear even then that making grades proportional to effort
is optimal. What I remember of studies on reinforcement makes me suspect
that it isn't.
-Robert Dawson
.
.
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