After trying several different grading and scoring techniques the one I use now, is to replace the lowest scoring of the 3 (70 item) multiple choice exams with the average of all 3 exams. That way the student is held accountable for all exams, and yet can possibly raise the score of a low exam. I don't give a comprehensive final......just an exam 3 usually covering the last 3 or 4 chapters we cover. Any comments about this technique? I might add that I used to allow the averaging if each exam score was better than the previous exam score. However I recently removed the directionality component......realizing that a student could have "a bad exam" day at any point in the semester. At the same time knowing that the average can help the students, I believe it encourages improvement. Mark Eastman Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
________________________________ From: Penley, Julie [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tue 11/13/2007 8:04 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] Question about Exam Scores So many people have weighed in, both here and in PSYCTEACH, and I agree with the folks who do not curve. Particularly in situations such as Albert's, where (1) students asked whether there would be a curve even before the exam was given out and (2) at least 10% of students in each class earned an A on the test. Given that these are probably Introduction to Psych students, I believe they really do need to earn their grade in this class, as it sets the stage for future PSYC classes they might take. I'm sure we've all seen students who got an A in (someone else's) Intro. and then came into our subsequent PSYC class and struggled mightily, perhaps suggesting they didn't have the mastery of the material that their Intro grade suggests. Having said all this, I also do an item analysis (available with most Scantron machines) on most of my exams, and give students additional points for 'bad' questions (those in which the class did worse than chance on). Julie Julie A. Penley, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology El Paso Community College PO Box 20500 El Paso, TX 79998-0500 Office phone: (915) 831-3210 Department fax: (915) 831-2324 ________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Mon 11/12/2007 3:29 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Question about Exam Scores Dear Colleagues: I teach at the community college, and this semester my teaching load is four courses. Today, I administered the second exam in all of my courses and just scored each of them. The average for each class is as follows Class 1- N=27 70% average raw score Class 2- N=31 66% average raw score Class 3- N=29 67% average raw score Class 4- N=30 67% average raw score The exam consisted of 50 multiple choice items and scored on a 100% scale. My colleagues at my campus are divided, some say that they deserve the score they get, others will curve the exam scores. In fact several of my students asked if I would curve even before I handed out the answer forms and exam booklets. Each semester I do have a handful of students who do not test very well, however this semester I seem to have more of those that do not test well or are not studying adequately for my exam. In each class three students scored 90% or higher My question is as follows At what point does one scale or curve the results and are there any specific methods of doing so? Thanks Albert Bramante Department of Psychology/Sociology Union County College [EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________ See what's new at AOL.com <http://www.aol.com/?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170> and Make AOL Your Homepage <http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169> . --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ---
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