Latest Embarrassing CHE Op-Ed: Make All Courses Pass/Fail

[spork]

The only reason some universities are adopting pass/fail grading is to avoid being inundated with end-of-semester grade appeals, possible litigation, and bad publicity,

[downer]

The only reason some universities are adopting pass/fail grading is to avoid being inundated with end-of-semester grade appeals, possible litigation, and bad publicity,

That's a little cynical. Those are probably motivations. But it could also be motivated by compassion for students having a difficult time and genuine doubt about the quality of instruction being provided by a lot of profs who are completely unprepared to transition to online teaching.

[marshwiggle]

The only reason some universities are adopting pass/fail grading is to avoid being inundated with end-of-semester grade appeals, possible litigation, and bad publicity,

That's a little cynical. Those are probably motivations. But it could also be motivated by compassion for students having a difficult time and genuine doubt about the quality of instruction being provided by a lot of profs who are completely unprepared to transition to online teaching.

So why not instead give students a "before covid" grade, along with an indication of what percentage of the original course grade that was based on.

So:

• A; 50 means the student had an A average and 50% of the grade had been determined already.
• C; 30 means the student had a C average and 30% of the grade had been determined already.

This would certianly be meaningful for cases where the percentage is high; "A; 80" is vastly different than "D; 80" and those numbers are NOT results of covid. On the other hand "D; 20" isn't something to get too worked up about.

[Puget]

The only reason some universities are adopting pass/fail grading is to avoid being inundated with end-of-semester grade appeals, possible litigation, and bad publicity,

That's a little cynical. Those are probably motivations. But it could also be motivated by compassion for students having a difficult time and genuine doubt about the quality of instruction being provided by a lot of profs who are completely unprepared to transition to online teaching.

So why not instead give students a "before covid" grade, along with an indication of what percentage of the original course grade that was based on.

So:

• A; 50 means the student had an A average and 50% of the grade had been determined already.
• C; 30 means the student had a C average and 30% of the grade had been determined already.

This would certianly be meaningful for cases where the percentage is high; "A; 80" is vastly different than "D; 80" and those numbers are NOT results of covid. On the other hand "D; 20" isn't something to get too worked up about.

Because transcripts aren't set up to take entries like this, there would be no way to figure them fairly into GPAs, and no one looking at those transcripts afterward would have any idea how to interpret them if everyone comes up with their own weird annotations. In contrast, pass/fail is already a thing transcripts can include, is already a standard practice at most institutions that is just getting applied to more courses, and is readily interpreted by people looking at those transcripts later. I don't think people are going to forget what was going on this semester-- they will know why there are a lot more P/F grades.

We don't need to make this so complicated, and I'm really not sure why folks like you are so insistent on not making accommodations right now-- dig deep and see if you can locate your misplaced compassion.

[mahagonny]

The only reason some universities are adopting pass/fail grading is to avoid being inundated with end-of-semester grade appeals, possible litigation, and bad publicity,

That's a little cynical. Those are probably motivations. But it could also be motivated by compassion for students having a difficult time and genuine doubt about the quality of instruction being provided by a lot of profs who are completely unprepared to transition to online teaching.

Being inundated with grade appeals? Even with my attitude, I wouldn't wish that on any administrator. We're in crisis management mode. Adjustments are warranted.
Besides people being unprepared to transition online, some types of courses and assignments just won't work when delivered online.

So why not instead give students a "before covid" grade, along with an indication of what percentage of the original course grade that was based on.

So:

• A; 50 means the student had an A average and 50% of the grade had been determined already.
• C; 30 means the student had a C average and 30% of the grade had been determined already.

This would certianly be meaningful for cases where the percentage is high; "A; 80" is vastly different than "D; 80" and those numbers are NOT results of covid. On the other hand "D; 20" isn't something to get too worked up about.

Because it's more work for the professor, and most of us adjuncts in the USA don't make good money like you and your colleagues do.

[marshwiggle]

We don't need to make this so complicated, and I'm really not sure why folks like you are so insistent on not making accommodations right now-- dig deep and see if you can locate your misplaced compassion.

FWIW, in my courses students were done the "regular" part of the course, and were exclusively working on projects. So I reduced the weight (and requirements) of the project to fit with what was already accomplished. In other words, my grades are based on what they got done before things blew up.  So the grades actually reflect performance, but don't include problems after covid.

I think there are lots of possible "compassionate" responses that don't necessarily obliterate all indications of how people were performing before this.

[mahagonny]

We don't need to make this so complicated, and I'm really not sure why folks like you are so insistent on not making accommodations right now-- dig deep and see if you can locate your misplaced compassion.

Any solution Marshwiggle suggest is likely to complicated. He's more comfortable that way. It's a talent, and we don't all have it.

[marshwiggle]

We don't need to make this so complicated, and I'm really not sure why folks like you are so insistent on not making accommodations right now-- dig deep and see if you can locate your misplaced compassion.

Any solution Marshwiggle suggest is likely to be complicated. He's more comfortable that way. It's a talent, and we don't all have it.

All kinds of solutions to the current situation regarding just about every aspect of life now are complicated. But these "complications" are the result of trying to make the best of an unprecedented situation. Going to the grocery store has become much more complicated.  I suppose the military could start dropping off 100 lb bags of dried rice and beans at every house and say "Grocery stores are now closed; call us when you run out and we'll bring more." That would arguably be "simpler" but not necessarily any great improvement over the "complicated" situation, and much less desirable as well.

[pigou]

Wouldn't it be reasonable to give students the choice, but to require they make the choice for all classes, rather than individually?

(1) If you're a poor student, you switch to P/F and your GPA doesn't suffer -- but it also doesn't improve. The choice doesn't really matter.
(2) If you're a great student whose performance doesn't suffer as a consequence of the outbreak, you stick with original grading. No harm in declining the option.
(3) If you're a great student, but your performance is hurt by the outbreak, you switch to P/F -- ostensibly, the policy is aimed to help this type of student. Looking at GPA after graduation is still meaningful.
(4) Students in the middle will largely not see much of a difference from the decision, since P/F protects them from a falling GPA, but also doesn't give them the opportunity to raise their GPA.

Mandating P/F doesn't change the choice for 1 and 3, but makes (2) and part of group (4) worse off. (2) can no longer signal they worked through it and students in (4) who were doing very well up to this point in the semester won't be able to improve their GPA.

Edit: and requiring the same choice for all classes means students can't selectively drop the ones they're not doing as well in. That would inflate GPAs for the semester.

[marshwiggle]

Wouldn't it be reasonable to give students the choice, but to require they make the choice for all classes, rather than individually?

(1) If you're a poor student, you switch to P/F and your GPA doesn't suffer -- but it also doesn't improve. The choice doesn't really matter.
(2) If you're a great student whose performance doesn't suffer as a consequence of the outbreak, you stick with original grading. No harm in declining the option.
(3) If you're a great student, but your performance is hurt by the outbreak, you switch to P/F -- ostensibly, the policy is aimed to help this type of student. Looking at GPA after graduation is still meaningful.
(4) Students in the middle will largely not see much of a difference from the decision, since P/F protects them from a falling GPA, but also doesn't give them the opportunity to raise their GPA.

Mandating P/F doesn't change the choice for 1 and 3, but makes (2) and part of group (4) worse off. (2) can no longer signal they worked through it and students in (4) who were doing very well up to this point in the semester won't be able to improve their GPA.

Edit: and requiring the same choice for all classes means students can't selectively drop the ones they're not doing as well in. That would inflate GPAs for the semester.

That's a great idea. Presumably the students struggling because of the covid disruptions would be happy with it since all of their courses would be affected.  It's hard to rationally argue that all of the stress, decreased internet bandwidth, extra family resposibilities, etc. only affected certain courses.

[apl68]

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is now on the verge of allowing students to request "Credit/No Credit" grading.  Other universities in the state are also reportedly considering such a change.


https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2020/mar/24/ualr-grading-option-backed-20200324/?news-arkansas



I suspect that this will be like everything else we've seen in recent weeks--once the word is out that a few schools are doing it, things will snowball until virtually every school in the country has fallen into line.

[Puget]

Wouldn't it be reasonable to give students the choice, but to require they make the choice for all classes, rather than individually?

(1) If you're a poor student, you switch to P/F and your GPA doesn't suffer -- but it also doesn't improve. The choice doesn't really matter.
(2) If you're a great student whose performance doesn't suffer as a consequence of the outbreak, you stick with original grading. No harm in declining the option.
(3) If you're a great student, but your performance is hurt by the outbreak, you switch to P/F -- ostensibly, the policy is aimed to help this type of student. Looking at GPA after graduation is still meaningful.
(4) Students in the middle will largely not see much of a difference from the decision, since P/F protects them from a falling GPA, but also doesn't give them the opportunity to raise their GPA.

Mandating P/F doesn't change the choice for 1 and 3, but makes (2) and part of group (4) worse off. (2) can no longer signal they worked through it and students in (4) who were doing very well up to this point in the semester won't be able to improve their GPA.

Edit: and requiring the same choice for all classes means students can't selectively drop the ones they're not doing as well in. That would inflate GPAs for the semester.

This assumes all the problems are on the student end. I think there are dramatic differences in how well faculty are doing in transitioning classes online (and just by their nature some are easier to transition online than others), so not all classes will be equally affected.

[marshwiggle]

Wouldn't it be reasonable to give students the choice, but to require they make the choice for all classes, rather than individually?

(1) If you're a poor student, you switch to P/F and your GPA doesn't suffer -- but it also doesn't improve. The choice doesn't really matter.
(2) If you're a great student whose performance doesn't suffer as a consequence of the outbreak, you stick with original grading. No harm in declining the option.
(3) If you're a great student, but your performance is hurt by the outbreak, you switch to P/F -- ostensibly, the policy is aimed to help this type of student. Looking at GPA after graduation is still meaningful.
(4) Students in the middle will largely not see much of a difference from the decision, since P/F protects them from a falling GPA, but also doesn't give them the opportunity to raise their GPA.

Mandating P/F doesn't change the choice for 1 and 3, but makes (2) and part of group (4) worse off. (2) can no longer signal they worked through it and students in (4) who were doing very well up to this point in the semester won't be able to improve their GPA.

Edit: and requiring the same choice for all classes means students can't selectively drop the ones they're not doing as well in. That would inflate GPAs for the semester.

This assumes all the problems are on the student end. I think there are dramatic differences in how well faculty are doing in transitioning classes online (and just by their nature some are easier to transition online than others), so not all classes will be equally affected.

One other measure that has been adopted many places, including here, is to extend the drop deadline. After even a week of each course's transition to online students shoiuld be able to tell which is OK and which is a total mess so they can drop. That still gives them agency.

[Puget]

Wouldn't it be reasonable to give students the choice, but to require they make the choice for all classes, rather than individually?

(1) If you're a poor student, you switch to P/F and your GPA doesn't suffer -- but it also doesn't improve. The choice doesn't really matter.
(2) If you're a great student whose performance doesn't suffer as a consequence of the outbreak, you stick with original grading. No harm in declining the option.
(3) If you're a great student, but your performance is hurt by the outbreak, you switch to P/F -- ostensibly, the policy is aimed to help this type of student. Looking at GPA after graduation is still meaningful.
(4) Students in the middle will largely not see much of a difference from the decision, since P/F protects them from a falling GPA, but also doesn't give them the opportunity to raise their GPA.

Mandating P/F doesn't change the choice for 1 and 3, but makes (2) and part of group (4) worse off. (2) can no longer signal they worked through it and students in (4) who were doing very well up to this point in the semester won't be able to improve their GPA.

Edit: and requiring the same choice for all classes means students can't selectively drop the ones they're not doing as well in. That would inflate GPAs for the semester.

This assumes all the problems are on the student end. I think there are dramatic differences in how well faculty are doing in transitioning classes online (and just by their nature some are easier to transition online than others), so not all classes will be equally affected.

One other measure that has been adopted many places, including here, is to extend the drop deadline. After even a week of each course's transition to online students shoiuld be able to tell which is OK and which is a total mess so they can drop. That still gives them agency.

They should not have to drop late in the semester because their class is now a total mess. That could delay graduation, mess up all their schedules going forward, etc.

Why are you so intent on punishing your students in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis?

[marshwiggle]

One other measure that has been adopted many places, including here, is to extend the drop deadline. After even a week of each course's transition to online students shoiuld be able to tell which is OK and which is a total mess so they can drop. That still gives them agency.

They should not have to drop late in the semester because their class is now a total mess. That could delay graduation, mess up all their schedules going forward, etc.

Why are you so intent on punishing your students in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis?

Are we as a society intent on "punishing" health care workers in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis by making them treat people?

Are we as a society intent on "punishing" people in entertainment and hospitality industries in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis by shuttering their businesses?

Are we as a society intent on "punishing" working parents with small children in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis by closing schools and daycares?

What we are doing,  in the middle of an unprecedented global crisis, is trying to figure out how to make the best of it. Part of the responsibility of educational institutions is to assess students' knowledge in some credible way. While the covid epidemic undoubtedly has a negative impact on students' education, that doesn't absolve institutions of the responsibility to attempt fair assessment. "Everyone gets an A!" is not a fair assessment. Neither is "Everyone gets an F!" The more nuance that can be preserved the better.  And by giving students choices with real consequences, it helps to prepare them for the world which (as is now readily apparent) includes circumstances that we were not prepared for but whose consequences we must deal with.

Saying we will give people choices is showing compassion; pretending that this will have no measurable impact on their academic career is dishonest and infantalizing.