Ken O'Connor

This book contains many useful tips for improved grading, although some might not be workable in your classroom without administrator approval. For example, as a mathematician, I know that the mean is heavily influenced by outliers; in the context of grading, this means that a 0 for missing work when something came up in a student's life can have a devastating effect on their course grade. In addition, the mean may not be an accurate reflection of the student's level of knowledge if they got 100% on all topics but one. For the purpose of grades, the median is a better measure of center from a statistical point of view, but likely this change would receive pushback from administrators who don't understand the mathematics of the situation.… (mehr)