Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment (Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education) [Paperback]

Barbara E. Walvoord (Author), Virginia Johnson Anderson (Author), Thomas A. Angelo (Foreword), Virginia Johnson Anderson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787940305 | ISBN-13: 978-0787940300 | Publication Date: February 25, 1998 | Edition: 1

Effective Grading is written for the faculty member who believes the grading process is a valuable measure of student learning. This hands-on guide for evaluating student work offers an in-depth examination of the linkage between teaching and grading. It uses grades not as isolated artifacts, but as part of a process that, when integrated with course objectives, provides rich information about student learning. The authors reveal how the grading process can also be used for broader assessment objectives, such as curriculum and institutional assessment.

As practical as it is informative, Effective Grading contains a wealth of special materials, including AAHE's Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning, types of assignments and tests, and a plan for a faculty workshop on grading and assessment. In addition, the book provides background to the principles of the grading process as well as a wealth of illustrative examples, offering faculty both a sound basis in assessment theory and the practical tools they need to put it to work.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

BARBARA E. WALVOORD is director of the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning and concurrent professor of English at the University of Notre Dame. VIRGINIA JOHNSON ANDERSON is professor of biological sciences and chair of the biology department assessment committee at Towson State University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (February 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787940305
• ISBN-13: 978-0787940300
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #886,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for college teachers, June 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment (Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education) (Paperback)

I admit I was skeptical when I started this book--so many pedagogically oriented texts seem to sacrifice content and standards for "feel-good" solutions to education. However, I have found this book to offer excellent suggestions for every aspect of structuring classes to teach and evaluate what you most want your students to learn. In my college English classes, I've used variations of Primary Trait Analyses and Gateway Criteria and they have made a big difference in the levels of thinking and writing in my own students. Giving students specific guidelines allows them to focus on what's important about the assignment, set their priorities appropriately, and makes things much easier for me when the time comes for grading. I highly recommend this book.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book every teacher should read, August 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment (Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education) (Paperback)

Do you love to teach but hate the grading process? That's where I was when I picked up this book. Very practically written, "Effective Grading" shows you how to choose the proper grading model for a class, how to motivate students through properly communicating your grading system, and how to structure your assignments to increase student learning. All this while drastically reducing the amount of time you need to spend on grading papers. Within a week of reading this book, I've made some drastic changes in my courses which will benefit both my students and myself.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost a Grade-A Guide to Grading, June 6, 2007

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment (Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education) (Paperback)

While it may not seem like it to students, grading is a very complex exercise for teachers and instructors. Anyone hoping to go into that line of work will have to learn about how complex and uncertain the art of grading can be, and this book is a strong compendium of current theory on such matters. An especially valuable aspect of this book is its coverage of the different schools of thought on whether grading is really an accurate assessment tool at all, and how all parties in the education process (students, teachers, administrators, parents, employers) have different conceptions of the usefulness and value of grades. But while this book is hugely informative at the practical level, beware of a few larger theoretical weaknesses. Frequently, certain practices that are currently held in high esteem become overused examples of larger concepts. The most glaring example is the inaccurately-titled chapter "Establishing Criteria and Standards for Grading" which is entirely about just one method, Primary Trait Analysis. At a higher level, this book assumes that all instructors will have the privilege of smaller class sizes, or welcoming administrative environments, in which experimenting with grading methods is possible or practical at all. Meanwhile this book (and many others like it) fails to distinguish between future advancements in theory and the real world in which such theories and practices have yet to be implemented on any appreciable scale. [~doomsdayer520~]