Grading Alternatives-Some research results

[DANSWART@aol.com]

Richard E. Zultner writes:

<< Does anyone have any references to any studies that actually investigated 
what the short and long term effect of grades on motivations? Especially at 
the college and graduate level? (I would think by grad school we have a 
robust and stable system for motivation...) >>

http://www.apa.org/releases/grades.html

This study found that ''Praising children's intelligence [high grades], far 
from boosting their self-esteem, encourages them to embrace self-defeating 
behaviors, such as worrying about failure and avoiding risks,'' she notes. 
''However, when children are taught the value of concentrating, strategizing, 
and working hard when dealing with academic challenges, this encourages them 
to sustain their motivation, performance, and self-esteem.'' 


http://www.apa.org/releases/homework.html

In this study, adolescents who perceive that schools and classroom teachers 
define achievement primarily in terms of grades and performance are more 
likely to cheat and believe that cheating is acceptable. Psychologist Eric M. 
Anderman, Ph.D., and graduate students Tripp Griesinger, M.S., and Gloria 
Westerfield, M.S., of the University of Kentucky studied 285 middle school 
science students and examined the link between cheating in science class and 
the motivational variables behind such behavior. Their findings indicate that 
students who report cheating tend to:

1. worry about school 
2. perceive their school as focused on grades and ability 
3. believe they can obtain some type of reward for doing well in class 
4. attribute failure in school to outside circumstances 
5. avoid using deep-level cognitive processing strategies, such as trying 
different ways to solve a problem

Those two studies do not investigate post-high school students.  I have been 
able to follow-up on only a couple of some very useful links provided to me 
by John Purchase:

http://www.apa.org
The site for Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing - The 
American Psychological
Association.

http://www.ets.org
Educational Testing Service site.

http://ericae.net/
ERIC site.

http://uncweb.carl.org/
Site on which papers may be ordered electronically.


I hope others find studies that shed light specifically on this subject.

Dan
danswart@aol.com
"If you know better, then you have an obligation to lead.  Don't give up." -- 
Myron Tribus
============================================================================