Exam Averages

I received this email this week:

"Is there an exam average that instructors should be aiming for with exams? I hear that an average of 80 is good with at least half the class above 80. Is there any rhyme or reason to this?"

This is an interesting question, and one that people tend to disagree about. My response assumes that this question is asked regarding grading exams, as usually this is when most people ask this question.

The advice that this instructor had received seems to suggest is that the ideal would be to have a relatively normal distribution of grades around an average grade of a B-. Something like this:

However, this also seems to suggest that you can control this distribution. Of course, you can if you choose to grade on a curve. Grading on a curve is generally not advised, however, as it can have many unintended consequences. For example, students generally don't understand that if you are truly grading on a curve, their grade could potentially go down in order for you to be able to fill the "quotas" you've created (e.g., half of the class gets less than a B-). Also, it creates a situation in which students are assessed based on the performance of others in the class, as opposed to being evaluated against a set of standard criteria. I always tell my students that I will be happy to give them all As if they all exceed the expectations set out at the beginning of the course.

This brings us to another point. An "A" doesn't mean that you completed all of the necessary requirements. It means you exceeded expectations, or went above and beyond the call of duty. Indeed, a B is considered "above average" work. I think that many people fail to recall that a "C" is truly an average grade. (Ever heard of grade inflation? But that's a topic for another time...)

This doesn't mean that you should norm your grades around a C either. What it means is that we need to set standards for performance in our classes, be clear about what is required to earn a particular grade, and then evaluate students according to those standards.

Of course, looking at the grade distribution can be helpful. Once you have graded exams or papers against your preset criteria, I do suggest plotting out the grades to see the resulting distribution. If it is positively skewed (meaning that the majority of the grades are above a C), you may want to review the assignment to ensure it was sufficiently challenging given the requirements of the course, and was designed such that it could discriminate between average and excellent work. If so, congratulations - this may be a sign that you are an effective instructor and your students worked hard to learn the material.

If the grades are negatively skewed (meaning usually that a lot of people failed), you may find that your test was too difficult, or did not adequately represent the material covered (it's probably unusual to have an entire class of students who simply don't put in the work). In these cases, you may want to do an item analysis (review the pattern of responses for each question in turn), and drop the items that you deem unfair or ineffective from the assignment. This allows you to bump up grades based on standards relevant to the course material, not simply due to poor grades. Finally, it is not unusual to see a bimodal distribution (where many students did very well, and another subset of students performed quite poorly). Again, I would do an item analysis, but if everything seems to look kosher (the questions seem fair, there wasn't anything special about the group who performed poorly, such as all being from a preexisting group such as ESL students), you can probably chalk this up to a small group of students failing to adequately prepare.

I hope this helps to answer your question!

Are you facing grading hell?

Maybe you want to try the stairway method of grading, demonstrated here. Just throw everything down the stairs, and then determine the grade based on where it lands. According to the creator of this photograph, to stay current with grade inflation the top stair should be a B-, the bottom stair an A.

BUT SERIOUSLY...

We are rapidly approaching the end of the semester, and many of us are about to receive dozens, or hundreds, of papers, exams, and other assignments, which will need to be graded - and rather quickly. How can you do this efficiently, and without resorting to tactics such as throwing papers down the stairs or shooting exams out of a canon?

Probably the most important thing you can do is to ensure that you have a clear set of grading criteria and a rubric that you can use to assign grades. You can learn more about how to do this here - this article also includes a great reference list of other resources on rubrics. Another way to make grading more efficient is to avoid procrastinating - we've all done it, and then spent an entire night frantically trying to finish entering grades before they are due. Make it a pleasurable experience - pick a coffee shop or some other environment you enjoy, get yourself a snack and a comforting beverage, and give yourself a reward when you get done. maybe even throw a grading party, and get together with colleagues so that you can take breaks and refresh yourselves before diving back in. Aim to grade in several shorter sessions instead of one all-nighter - this can help to make sure that you keep your sanity, and that you don't take your frustrations out on your students.

For the future, I strongly recommend avoiding a pile of grading before it happens. One way to do this is to spread assignments across the semester. Instead of a midterm and a final, try 4 shorter exams, or even weekly quizzes. Instead of a final paper, try providing topics with staggered deadlines (e.g., Topic 1 papers are due in October, Topic 2 papers in November). This means you have less grading at any one time. In my evaluations, students report liking the flexibility these types of assignments allow, and appreciate that the material is broken down into smaller chunks. Students also seem to respond well to getting feedback earlier than may be typical. This gives students a chance to improve, and an opportunity to discuss the material and ask questions after receiving feedback - something that rarely happens after the end of the semester.

What do you do to make the grading process more efficient and less painful? Please share your stories and tips!

Are they really studying?

The strangest and most unexpected thing happened in my class last week. Let me catch you up to speed:

Some of my students have been complaining because they have to write short answer questions on my exams, in addition to multiple choice. They say that there's not enough time, that the questions take to long to read, that they can't figure out what it is I really want them to say. So one of my brighter students, who happens to have trouble taking exams, suggested that I share the short answer questions with the class ahead of time.

I thought about it, and talked to some colleagues who reported that even when giving students the questions ahead of time, the distribution ends up being about the same. I decided it wouldn't hurt anyone, but thoguht I should let the students discuss it so they could feel like they were part of the process. I just assumed that everyone would think it was a great idea and vote it in.

Boy, was I wrong.

We ended up having a heated debate that I had to cut off lest it eat up too much class time (I let them finish their discussion through an anonymous discussion thread on WebCT). Although several students responded as I had expected, I hadn't predicted the number who would be totally against the idea. They argued that they had been studying hard and doing well. They stated that the point of college is to learn, and to develop the skills needed to identify what's important about a topic. They felt that it was totally reasonable to be expected to think on their feet. They didn't want everything handed to them. And they challenged their classmates, asking them if they were really studying at all.

I opened up an anonymous poll using the survey tool (found under assessments) on WebCT. I thought that maybe those against the idea were just the loudest, and that maybe other students were afraid to ask for help. But I was surprised again. So far, the clear majority of votes are against having the questions available ahead of time.

Although the polls are not yet closed, I'm heartened by the unexpected results thus far. I'm proud of my students who don't want everything handed to them and actually want to think and learn. I'm also really glad that I let my students in on this process rather than making the decision for them. Regardless of what the end result ends up being, this has been a learning experience for us all.