Affecting Student Perception and Performance by Grading With 10,000 Points

Abstract

As professors, we each have our own approach to grading which allows us to assess learning and provide useful feedback to our students, yet is not too onerous. This article explains one approach we have used that differs from standard grading scales we often hear about from our colleagues. Rather than being based on 100 points or 100% over the course of a semester, it is based on 10,000 points. This might sound very complicated, but it is actually more simple and straightforward and could be used in any discipline. This article addresses current thinking about grading scales, challenges we face related to student paradigms about grading, how the grading scale based on 10,000 points mitigates those issues, considerations for implementing such a grading scale, and how students reacted to the grading scale.

Keywords

grades grading scale low-stakes assignment framing anchoring loss aversion

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