Bentley, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oregon Health Science Center, 3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park, Portland, OR 97201; James L. Fairley, Department of Biochemistrv. Michigan State Universitv. East Lansine. MI 48824: AH& B. RLwitch, ~ e ~ a r t m e n t ' bBiochemist&, ;f The Universitv of Kansas Medical Center. Rainbow Boulevard at 39th, ~ a n s i City, s KS titilo% and ~ e w i W. s Stillway, Ikparrment of Hiochemistrs. .Medical University of South Candina, 171 Ashley Ave., ~harleston,SC 29403.
ORGANIZR-A Microcomputer-Implemented Grade Management Program Keith M. Wellman University of Miami Coral Gables. FL 33124 The general availability and convenienceof microcomputers has led us to develoo . a oroeram . " written in BASIC to manaae student grades. The program was designed to meet several key objectives with the following capabilities: 1) accommodateapproximately 200 student names and associated
grades
2) compute standard scores from raw scores
3) edit the list of student names and scores 4)
rank students on each exam. as well as on the total overall ~~
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5 ) nsAlgn grades auromnticnlly
provide various summary repmti for faculty pnwide a stlmmnry report of i~udentrrsultd witable for posting 8) utilize several different options far weighting individual exam scores to arrive at a total score for each student 9) print a hardcopy of individual student summaries for distribution directly to the student 10) store student data on disk files 6) 7)
Refore further discussion of the program, a comment ahout raw scores and standard scores is appropriate. Many faculty insist that the raw score a student rereives on an exam is not arbitrary. This view is referred to as crilerion-rrfrr~nced trsting. Interestingly, the same faculty, when discussing scores of students on National ACS examinations, invariably use percentile ranks rather than the raw srore. In effect, the faculty memher is saying that the itudent's ACS exam numerical wore has meaning only as it is related w other scores achieved on that exam. This approach is norm-referenced testing. Translating scores inu, percentile ranks is one of several score transformations that are intended to convey the relationship of a given score to the group. S u m distributions that have heen altered to have means and standard deviarioni of standard values are ralled aiuidard scores. "%.srores" we standard scores calculated from the equation z , = x,/o where x, is the raw score, n the standard deviation of the raw score distribution, and z; the computed z-score. The mean of the z-score distribution is zero and the standard deviation is one. Because manv z-scores are neeative. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ , thev .are often reearded as awkward and are converted to a distribution having a convenient mean and standard deviation. The simulest conversion is a linear score transformation, e.g.,
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Zi = 102s
+ 50
where Z; is the new standard score. This particular Z-score is sometimes referred to as a linear T-score or, simply, Tscore; it has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. Mwt T-scores will fall in the range of 20-80. In our program ORGANIZR we define still another option as WL= 20zi + 50. Here the mean is 50. The standard deviation is 20. W-scores tend to fall in the range of 0-100. Standard scores such as Z and W have several practical virtues. When calculated for the same eroun " . of students. standard scores on different examinations have directly comparable means and standard deviations and allow for the
602
Journal of Chemical Education
following: (1) ascertaining whether the student is improving, lagging, or holding even with the rest of the class by looking a t a series of the student's standard scores, (2) legitimate comparison of the standard scores on each exam if the instructor wishes to drop or suhstitute the score of a student's worst exam (such is not usually the case for raw scores), and (3) a fair value for a missed exam hv wine an average . . assienina " standard score based on standard scoresfor ocher exams. Bodner has also discussed the utilitv of standard scores versus raw scores (3). ORGANIZR, then, has the option to use (1)raw scores, (2) T-scores, or (3) W-scores for individual exams. Summing of exam scores is accomplished by one of several options: (1) sum raw scores-no scores dropped, (2) sum raw scores-drop lowest, (3) sum standard scores-no drops, (4) sum standard scores-drop lowest, (5) suhstitute final exam grade for the lowest regular exam if final is higher, and (6) substitute the final exam score for each missine reeular exam score. For ed to options 1-4, exams can he i n d i ~ i d h i w e i ~ h t according the instructor's formula. ORGANIZR provides a class ranking on each exam. I t also determines an overall class rank based on the total score from which grades can he automatically assigned according to rank. The instructor simply inputs the cutoff rank for "lowest A," "lowest B," etc. I t is worthwhile to note here that the instructor ultimately decides the general grade distribution. At this point, subjective judgment based on rank andlor total score is involved. Since the total score can he a t least semiquantitatively related to raw scores, the instructor can invoke a degree of criterion-referenced measurement to decide the actual grade distribution. After the grades are assigned, the instructor has the opportunity to change a student's grade individually before the various summaries and reports are printed. An alternative method of assigning grades using "normal" T-scores has been discussed elsewhere (3,4). T o comply with the Family Privacy Act of 1974, students who authorize oostine of their results can he flagged before final summary;epor~ are printed. The programthen automatically prints two hardcopy summaries: (1) an alphabetical listing for the instructor with class rank, rank on each exam, and grade, and (2) a similar listing hy student record number for - - nostine. This latter listine includes class rank. raw scores. and a grade. I t has been our experience that prokding a ten: tative course grade after each exam keeps the student clearly informed and virtually eliminates the otherwise inevitable ouestions from manv of todav's erade-conscience students. Individual student reports :a also generated. These are usuallv eiven to the student when each exam is returned. ~ h e s e " r e ~ o rprovide ts the student with a variety of information including raw scores, standard scores, rank on each exam, total score based upon the instructor's formula, overall rank, and tentative grade. The standard scores indicate the individual's progress relative to the rest of the class. It is important to recognize that the class is the standard to which all students are comoared with this svstem. Othe; printed reportsfor the instructor's records can he obtained on reauest. These are (1) . . an dohabetical listing with class rank, raw.scores, total score, and grade, (2) a listing accordine to class rank including standard scores on each exam and tr;;al sctre (useful i n defermining cutoffs for grade asrirnmeat), and (3) a listing acwrding toclass rank with rank on each exam and total score (usefulin discussing a student's progress). Initial preparation of the student class list can he done directly with OHGANIZR or the list can heobtained from adisk file orieinalh. ~ ~ r c r ~ a usine r e d SKA'I'I.IS7' (vide infra). " New students and their G d e s can he added to the & r e n t list. and editine of some data (name. raw scores. letter made, and class rankiis possible. changing raw scor& will &ually entail comnletelv redoina the analvsis of the corresuondina standard score, ;anking;total scoie, class rank, a i d grade assignment. As a matter of convenience to the instructor, such L~~~~
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changes are made when a new set of exam scores are entered. Students generally give this detailed method of grade analysis high scores on class evaluations. They appreciate the frequent .. updates on their performance. The program itself is highly interactive, and the operator does not need anv knowledee of how the svstem works. Once a command is given, the computer automatically carries it out. Because of the various sortings to determine rank and the extensive summaries and reports printed, the total process can take several hours for a laree class. For example. after a recent examination of 165 studknts, two hours wereneeded to process the raw scores, print all reports, and post student results. ORGANIZR was written using a 48K RAM Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I with two disk drives. Level I1 BASIC. and DISK BASIC enhancements. In order to conserve memory, the original oroeram was comnacted bv deletine unnecessarv spacesand "sing multiple sfatement lines. f a d i o ~ h a c k ; s SCRIPSIT word processing program is particularly convenient for this type of edit-compacting. The current program will handle over 180 students with five raw scores each. corresponding standard scores and ranks, total score, and grade. The program requires approximately 12K bytes and clears about 24K bytes for character handling. Since the typical disk operating systems for the Model I TRS-80 plus the DISK BASIC require about 12K bytes, the machine is close to its 48K byte memory limit. A variation of this program permits six exam scores to be stored; the numher of students handled is reduced to a ~ ~ r o x i m a t e150. l v The two versions are referred a i d ORGANIZRlMO6 handling five to as ORGAN~ZRIMO~ and six exams, respectively. A listing is available for $10 (specify M05 or M06). A copy of the program on floppy disk (specify M05 or M06 and TRSDOS or NEWDOSl80) can he ohtained for $16. Make checks payable to the author. ~
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A Program for Generating Random Seating Lists Michael Gold and Keith M. Wellman University of Miami Coral Gables. FL 33124 As most faculty will attest, when it comes to seating arraneements for an examination. students do not choose random seating nor do they "spread" themselves out no matter how manv excess seats are available. In order to solve this prohlem,-a program (SEATLIST) has been developed in BASIC to prepare any numher of random seating charts. SEATLIST has a main menu which includes the choices: (1) creation of a file of student names, (2) creation of a file of seat numhers, (3) preparation of a random seating chart, and (4) creation of file directories. Each semester we create the desired student name files for various classes-a class of 100 student names typically can he entered in ten minutes from the kevboard. Provision is made for editing a file of names as necessary. In a similar manner, files of seats are entered. Since each file of seats is eiven a different file name, it is possible to have numerous ;eat arrangements for any one room. A particular seating arrangement is determined by the order in which the seats are entered. Commonly, we start with every other seat in alternate rows. If more seats are required, the remaining seats of a row are used leaving alternate rows empty. If it is desired to seat two different classes using the same room simultaneously, it is simply necessary to use alternate seat files for the two classes. I t is convenient to prepare multiple random seating lists to suffice for the whole semester. If desired, an alphabetical (nonrandom) seating list can be prepared. This is useful occasionally in order to permit faculty to locate easily and identify students in large classes. SEATLIST automatically maintains and updates directories (a file of file names) of the classes on file and the seat files. The directories include a hrief description of each class
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and seat arrangement. The seat files are permanent if desired; class files are normally killed at the end of each semester. File structures utilize suhrecords in order to conserve disk mace: . , however, they can he accessed by other software and are easily adapted to other uses. The modular desien of the . Droeram faciiitates the incorporation of new appli&tions in the main program. The program is highly interactive and eliminates the need for the operator to have any special knowledge of the svstem. Once a command is given the program proceeds autom&ically without further input from the operator. Students readily accept a new seating chart for each exam; they appreciate the extra security provided. SEATLIST was written using a 48K RAM Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I with two disk drives, Level I1 BASIC, and DISK BASIC enhancements. The Droeram reauires about 7K . .. bytes niemory and clet~rsl > K bytes ior sharac~erhandling. Each directorv can hold 23 tmrlrs (class or room identifiers) and up to 200 entries in each fi1e.A listing is available h i sending a check for $3 to cover postage and handling to Keith M. Wellman. A copy of the program on floppy disk (specify TRSDOS or NEWDOSISO system) can he ohtained for $10 to cover postage, disk, and a technical service charge. Make checks payable to University of MiamiIChemistry Department.
~ssi~nme~ n t~ s t c m John Morris Miami-Dade Community College 11011 S. W. 104th Street Miami, FL 33176
The use of homework assignments has many advantages, but in laree classes eradine the . Daoers . and recordine the results is a Zifficult a& time-consuming task. 1f students copy from each other, the grades are of little value. The MiamiDade Homework System (MDHS) addresses these problems. I t encourages good study habits and attendance in laree clasws hy ; ~ r o & l i nindi;irlualiled ~ homework assignmenir for which the students receive credit. The system grades the homework, awards points for correct answers, andtahulates the results. 3. Eachsheet A tvnical .. assienment sheet is shown in Fieure " is numbered with an assignment numher and aversion number so that each student receives a unique assignment. The problems are varied by random selection of numhers and names a ~ ~ e a r i in n ethe ~roblems.The noint value of each pro hi em'^! givenin parentheses below the prubiem number. Points earned hv studentsare added to the total of their test scores. To encourage attendance, the homework assignments are given out onlv in class on unspecified davs. If students miss class, they miss t h e oppnrtunit; to earn the extra points. After students have worked the problems, they express the answers in exponential notation and mark them on the special cards illustrated in Figure 4. The students also mark their student numher, the assignment numher, and the version numher. Proper marking of the card is considered part of the problem, and students do not receive credit for incorrectly marked cards. When students turn in their answer cards, they also fill out and turn in the coupon printed at the bottom of the assignment sheet. This coupon has the assignment number and version number in seven places and also the date of printing. MDHS counts and pribts out the number of times every version is printed. This number should never be greater than one. The coupon is used to verify version numbers& case two or more students report the same version number. A table of the correct answers to all the versions is posted soon after the answer cards have been collected. This provides the students with prompt feedback and also precludes late turning in of answer cards.
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Volume 59
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Number 7
July 1982
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603
