Student self-reported use of standards-based grading resources and feedback

ABSTRACT

Standards-based grading (SBG) tightly links student assessment to course learning objectives, providing students with meaningful feedback. A well-designed SBG system should ease first-year engineering (FYE) students’ transition to tertiary education by setting clear expectations and enabling self-monitoring of learning progress. However, when students fail to access and use resources and feedback to guide their learning, the effort to construct an SBG system is not commensurate with the student learning benefits. FYE students in a course using SBG self-reported their access to and use of SBG resources and feedback to guide their work on assignments and prepare for exams. Access and use was low at the start or the semester but improved mid-semester around exam time. In a subsequent semester, strategies were employed to increase students’ engagement with the SBG system. Students’ access and use was significantly higher in the beginning of the semester. Insights on students’ engagement related to course management decisions are offered.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment
• standards-based grading
• learning objectives

Acknowledgements

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributors

Heidi A. Diefes-Dux, Professor of Engineering Education, [email protected]. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Food Science from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Food Process Engineering from Purdue University. She is a member of Purdue’s Teaching Academy. She is a faculty member within the First-Year Engineering Program, teaching and guiding the design of one of the required first-year engineering courses that engages students in computational thinking and mathematical modelling. Her research focuses on the development, implementation, and assessment of modelling and design activities with authentic engineering contexts and the use of standards-based grading for evidence-based improvement in student learning and instructional design.

ORCID

Heidi A. Diefes-Dux http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3635-1825

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Science Foundation: [Grant Number 1503794].