This 6-minute video by YouTooBio (Dr. Jayme Dyer, Biology Faculty at Durham Technical Community College) explains: when you use multiple grading schemes, each student is graded according to multiple grading policies, and they receive the highest score. This way, a student who scores high on assessments but low on “effort” can receive a high course grade, while a student who scores low on assessments but high on effort is still rewarded for their effort.
You can jump to the part you’re most interested in using the following links (they will take you to the video on YouTube):
- 0:00 Introduction
- 0:15 The Problem
- 3:20 The Solution: Multiple Grading Schemes
- 4:13 Pro-Tips for implementing Multiple Grading Schemes
- 5:41 Closing Thoughts
Dr. Byer provided these additional resources:
WHAT IF Grade Calculator (Google Sheet) – you can make a copy and edit it to implement multiple grading schemes in your course(s).
Multiple Grading Schemes were originally published in this paper: E. G. Bailey, J. Jensen, J. Nelson, H. K. Wiberg, J. D. Bell, Weekly Formative Exams and Creative Grading Enhance Student Learning in an Introductory Biology Course. LSE 16, ar2 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-02-0104
If you’re interested in reading more about how grading affects student learning, Jayme recommends reading Joe Feldman’s Grading for Equity.
