| dc.description |
Undergraduate education majors, student teachers, and experienced teachers (N = 326) responded to two written sketches depicting different levels of student effort. They decided on a grade, rated the importance of achievement and nonachievement factors, and wrote a defense of their grading decision. Overall, experienced teachers tended to give lower grades. Lower grades were awarded more when a female with high effort and low aptitude was portrayed or when a male with low effort and high aptitude was portrayed. Preservice and experienced teachers considered cognitive, nonachievement dispositions to be valid educational outcomes contributing to grade variation. There was a dichotomy of beliefs about borderline grading: Participants were struggling with being a judge or an advocate when the grade was used to punish inadequate effort or to reward improvement. An understanding of the interplay of beliefs, attitude, and social judgment with assessment is essential if teachers are to develop grading strategies that communicate the diverse learning outcomes expected of students. |
