V '_‘_: 1m V

ix -

‘EREGlnk convt‘r- ’

aids to learning. They still regard the student who ach- ieves high examination grades as capable if not brilliant, in the face of studies such as James Coleman's indicating that grades have little co- rrelation with intellectual ability or creativity. A

Other empirical.data--in. fact an overwhelming amount of it—-show that grades lack predictability as indicators of adult accomplishment, al- though, as we have seen, they are used egregiously by em— ployers and graduate schools to route graduating students into various status levels.' For example, a study of the -career achievements of form— er medical students showed ,cno correlation between aca— 'demic grades and income. the usual measure in our society _of a doctor's professional

success. '

The negative effects of fore mal examinations and grading on the learning process app- ear to be overwhelming and unmitigated. Graded exam- inations put a premium on received knowledge, espec— ially factual information, and disproportionately re- ward students who respond with this type of knowledge. Professors may claim to test the understanding of prin- ciples and ideas rather than the recall of facts, but h more often than not such alleged "understanding" is mere parroting of the profs essor's lectures.

In any case examinations set up to test learning of complex material-are likely to be ambiguous and statis- tically unreliable for grad- ing purposes. Even memory '

tests of purely factual matter are difficult for the untrained professor to con- struct. Multiple-choice tests apparently are the most rel- iable for this purpose, but they require skill and exper- ience in construction and their contribution to the learning process is minimal. Grading of examinations other than standardized objective tests is likely to be capric—

ions and idiosyncratic. Ed— ucational psychologists con; cur that the same person grading essay tests over a> long period is likely to be inconsistent, as are several people grading the same test

.similtaneously.

In most formal examination situations, there is little or no feedback to the student Examination papers may not be returned, and when they are,the teacher's comments .are usually few, brief, and? trivial. Since the professor often has dozens of papers to read and grade, even with the best intentions he rare- ly has time to write an intel- ligent, detailed critique helpful to the student.

I believe along with Paul Goodman that the student who conceives of learning as mean- ful and legitimate needs no _artificial competition for grades to motivate him. On the contrary, learning is

-probably most effective in a

context of mutual trust and

'cooperation, in which ideas

are tossed about without fear or favor between two or more people. Such interpersonal exchange of thought is certahl to be corroded and debased

.when the student views his

professor as an inquisitor amd his fellow students as com— petitors for tawdry rewards. Feedback, probably the most important contribution of evhr aluation to learning, is most certain to abound in non- competitive circumstances such as informal oral dialogb ues between student and teadr- er or group discussions in which the student's ideas

and interpretations are test- ed against the informed rea-

,ctions of other participants.

Even written examinations, including objective tests of facts, may contribute to learning if the unpressured instructor furnishes the stu—

‘dent with extended comments

and corrections and does not coerce or punish him with a grade. Programmed instruction may also be useful in some situations. The kind of evaluation I

THE-CADRE, Tues., Oct. 16/73 Page 9

would like to see at the university would include some or all of the following elements:

1. There should be ungraded courses or learning sequenc- es in which evaluation is student-centered,unstruct- ured, non-competitive, and continuous. This can be best achieved in the individual or small group tutorial and the seminar. Some of the evaluat- ative techniques might be a record, or log, of the learn- ing process kept by the stu— dent himself: essays or re- search papers read and crit— icized by the teacher or fell- ow students: informal, un- graded quizzes emphasizing constructive criticism by

the teacher: and teacher- student dialogues or group discussions.

2. For those students who eXpresslv request a more for— mal type of graded evaluation, oral or written examinations given by experts in their fields of study from outside the university could be arr— anged. These examinations by impartial persons unconnected with the university would pre- vent the alienation that in— evitably occurs when the claa? room teacher also acts as an inquisitor and an agent of other interests, such as em— ployers and military recruit— ers, in a process of select— ive and punitive evaluation. 3. In place of or in addition to the foregoing kind of for- mal examination the student may wish to take one of the standardized achievement tests given by such organizations as the Educational Testing Service of New York City and the Service for Admission to College and University(SACU) in Ottawa. These are avail— able in practically every university discipline, are required in any event by‘ many graduate schools, are

as statistically reliable as a test can ever be, and are

Awholly independent of the un-

iversity.

4. Recommendations and eval- uations of students by fac- ulty members for prospective employers or graduate school admission should be drafted

after discussion with the student, the draft should.be read by the student, and the letter should not be sent without his permission.

5. When there is graded ev— aluation of an examination requested by the student, the grade should be kept strictly confidential and be released only upon the reuqest of the student or with his approval.

Which university in Canada will take the lead to abolish root and branch the psychol- ogically baneful and educat— ionally useless system of mandatory course grades and all the stupid and harmful bureaucratic paraphernalia associated with them?

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