A Grading System for General Chemistry+ CHARLES B. D E W I ~ John Tarleton Agricultural College, Stephenville, Terns YSTEMS of grading are too often regarded as nothmg more than comparative measurement of student achievement, but the time when they served only so simple a purpose has long since passed. The awarding of grades is a dominant factor in catalyzing student activity despite the prattle of those who talk in terms of "socialized," "integrated," and "attainable" education. Student grades are frequently nsed as a basis for estimating a teacher's efficiency, and in extreme cases, the teacher who gives a considerable number of low grades is censured more severely than the students who receive them. The study of chemistry involves a dual learning process. The student must absorb a large amount of information and master numerous facts which he can present to the instructor on demand. He should also learn to apply his information to situations or problems that are somewhat differentfrom those that have been nsed for teaching illustrations. Incidental to attaining these objectives, he should learn something of the methods for finding additional information, and he should be encouraged to correlate his chemistry with his work in other courses. A satisfactory grading system should include means for measuring progress toward all of the announced objectives of the course. The classical percentage system provides too narrow a margin between minimum passing scores and alleged perfection. Schemes based on distribution curves derived from examination scores tend toward a reduction of the minimum requirements. A restatement of the meaning of the various grade marks in terms only a little different from those found in college catalogs suggests a means of avoiding the objections. The grade of D may be interpreted as acceptable but not satisfactory. Students who receive this grade are not encouraged to take advanced work, and a large number of D grades usually bars a student from graduation. Students who make D in general chemistry usually possess a scanty store of information, and few of them show any ability to apply the little knowledge that they have acquired. The grade of C can be adequately defined by the word satisfactory. Inspection of examination papers will often show that the C student has depended largely on memorization and that he is weak in the application of principles. The grade of B repiesents some degree of superiority which is most often attained by the hard working plodder or by the brilliant student who is satisfied with a mediocre effort. The first type of student may earn a B by intensive memorization with some application, while the second student is more likely to earn it by use of his reasoning ability. The top grade of A then becomes a mark of true mastery which requires both superior ability and hard work. Many students of general chemistry have been ob-
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served to spend so much of their time and effort in attempting to master the more difficult topics that they have neglected the simpler fundamentals. In such a case, the mediocre student becomes completely discouraged and his more able fellow becomes disgusted. The grading system used by the writer has been devised to secure maximum effort from both weak and strong students when they cannot be segreeated in different sections. It depends primarily on-a clear demarcation between the acquiring of information and the application of principles. A discussion of an examination will explain the principal features of the system. The examination is divided into two parts labeled Part A and Part B. There might be eight essay-type questions in Part A and these might be graded on a basis of ten points each. They would be questions of information and the answers could be learned by memorization of the material from the textbook and lectures. The students are told that this constitutes a qualifying test without which Part B has little value. A grade of 70 on Part A will give a student a passing grade on the examination even if he omits Part B altogether. A perfect score on Part A, however, will give him nothing better than a low C. Higher grades are dependent on the answers to the questions of Part B. These questions cannot be readily answered with memorized material alone. They include the more difficult principles, application of principles to new situations, and processes or problems that require a combination of principles that may not have been used together in the classwork. They always include one or more questions that only the very best students can be expected to answer. Since no individual is expected to answer all of them, they can be made to cover the widest variety of topics and a considerable range of difficulty. In answer to a student's question about the method of scoring, one class was told that if Part A were satisfactorily handled, answers to two questions from Part B would guarantee a high C on the examination and that three correct answers would earn a grade of B. If a student answered four questions, his grade would probably be A , and if any individual answered all six questions in the allotted time, i t would be a miracle. No miracles have been performed. Most problems are put in Part B questions when they are first studied, but the simpler ones may appear in Part A later in the semester. The problem of the student who falls below the requirement on the information questions but who works some of the problems offered a little trouble a t first. I t was solved by transferring points from the second part of the examination to the first part a t a reduced value. Thus a student who earned a score of 65 on information and 25 on applications would receive the 129
same grade as one who scored 70 and 15 on the two sections. This practice has resulted in a marked decrease in the tendency to slight the fundamentals. Some additional flexibility is provided by allowing extra credit on a few items. If a question asks for two equations for the preparation of chlorine, the student who gives four will receive extra credit. Numerical answers to problems are not required, but the work must be carried to such a point that it can be completed with the direct operations of arithmetic. The student who obtains a numerical answer receives extra credit, amounting to about ten per cent of the problem's nominal value. Use of the slide rule is encouraged. Two other points are worth mentioning in connection with the determination of semester grades. Neat and orderly papers on both examinations and daily work
can earn the student a bonus that may change his grade from a high C to a B. It cannot raise a grade that is below passing. Collateral reading is encouraged by a similar arrangement. By doing sufficient reading in approved books or periodicals, a student may raise a passing grade by one letter. Although there is nothing spectacular or revolutionary about this procedure, is has brought about an improvement in the conditions it was designed to meet. The amount of work done by the best students has been markedly increased. The weaker students have been helped to concentrate on those portions of the course that they could master, and the number of failures has deneased. Finally, operation of the system seems to have helped a little in bringing about earlier elimination of the incorrigible loafers.
