Full Description
This second edition of the alternative grading classic revisits specs grading with a robust body of research, exemplars, and strategies to elevate the quality of student work, increase engagement and buy-in, reduce faculty stress, and cultivate students' career competencies.
Nilson and Packowski present the unique characteristics of the specs grading schema, all of which simplify faculty decision making, reduce antagonism between the evaluator and the evaluated, and increase student receptivity to meaningful feedback, thus facilitating a mutually beneficial, rigorous learning process. Used consistently over time, specs grading can restore credibility to grades by demonstrating and making transparent to all stakeholders the learning outcomes that students achieve.
This book features five new chapters stemming from firsthand accounts of dozens of instructors actively using specs grading and new material in six of the remaining eight chapters. It lays out the surprisingly simple transition process, positioning specs grading as the most viable and easy-to-use system available to faculty.
Contents
1. The Continuing Need for a New Grading System 2. Learning Outcomes and Course Design 3. Linking Grades to Outcomes 4. Pass/Fail Grading for Rigor, Motivation, and Faculty Peace of Mind 5. Essentials of Specifications Grading 6. Converting Specs-Graded Student Work into Final Letter Grades 7. Specs-Graded Course Designs in STEM and the Health Sciences 8. Specs-Graded Course Designs in Business, the Humanities, and the Social Sciences 9. Evidence of Restored Rigor, Student Motivation, and Saved Faculty Time 10. What Do the Students Think? 11. Developing Students' Career Competencies 12. Developing a Course With Specs Grading 13. An Evaluation of Specs Grading
