Grading matters in theological education

Grading systems matter more to the teaching and learning enterprise than many teachers may realize, as demonstrated in the author's experience of adopting a new one. Different systems emphasize different values such as excellence vs. perfection, achievement vs. talent, and second chances vs. pa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching theology & religion 2017-10, Vol.20 (4), p.314-326
Main Author: Blodgett, Barbara J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic grading
assessment
Educational evaluation
Educational philosophy
grading
learning
Pedagogy
teaching
Theological schools
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Summary:Grading systems matter more to the teaching and learning enterprise than many teachers may realize, as demonstrated in the author's experience of adopting a new one. Different systems emphasize different values such as excellence vs. perfection, achievement vs. talent, and second chances vs. partial credit. The author relates her experiment with specifications grading, an outcome‐based, pass/fail, rubric‐based, and contractual grading system, and demonstrates its promise. She then addresses three questions her experiment raised: Should I grade at all and if so, toward what end? Exactly what am I grading when I grade? and Is there any way to lessen the sting of failure?
ISSN:1368-4868
1467-9647
DOI:10.1111/teth.12402