Re: FW: Grading Alternative

[Myron Tribus <mtribus@earthlink.net>]

David Langford and I have published (for the last ten years) the sensible
alternative to 'grading'.  The descriptions are on the den-web page
http://deming.ces.clemson.edu/pub/den/deming_tribus.htm

For example, the article entitled, "Competency Matrix for Teaching Deming
Quality Management" displays a matrix in which the rows contain the
elements of knowledge and know-how required to instruct others in Quality
Management.  There are more than 100 elements in the complete matrix.  The
columns indicate the level of mastery or competence.  These levels are
given operational definitions so that the learner and the teacher may agree
on whether or not a particular topic has been mastered at the level claimed.
The student is asked to self asses and to color in the matrix to indicate
his or her level of attainment.  The teacher (or anyone else) may glance at
the profile of attainment and judge what needs to be done.  The teacher is
expected to use sampling methods to test whether the student's own
evaluation corresponds to that which the teacher would have assigned.
Each student keeps a file which contains the competency matrix at the front
and behind it the documentation required to substantiate the claimed
mastery.

The information in the folder may be used for a variety of purposes.  The
main purpose is so that teacher and learner may decide what to do next.
The next purpose is to show third parties what the standards of the course
are.

To take this wealth of information and encode it in a single number of
letter serves to create entropy for it amounts to throwing away valuable
information and substitute a measure which has only "MMMvalue" (MMM = mood
modulating measurement)  It makes people feel good or bad but does nothing
constructive.

Myron Tribus

[Moderator's Note:  The Competency Matrix also makes the "learning leader"
do a much better job of instructional design,  That matrix does not just
happen!!                                         Jim Clauson ]
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