Faculty mull grading change
Would add weight to harder classes
By: Kate Sullivan, Staff Writer
Issue date: 3/23/07 Section: University
The Faculty Council will consider today adopting a new system of comparing student achievement, aimed at eliminating student grade disparities.
The proposed system would be based on the Achievement Index, a statistical system similar to grade point averages.
The main difference between the Achievement Index and GPAs is that AI takes into account varying grading systems across departments and courses.
"Both are summaries of the grades that students get," said Andrew Perrin, a member of the subcommittee for grading, which compiled a proposal for the council.
"The problem with GPA for comparing the performance of different students is the grading practices vary greatly across departments," Perrin said.
The academic index helps even out the playing field for students taking classes where professors grade more stringently, said Valen Johnson, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who created the system while he was a faculty member at Duke University.
"If one professor decides that he's going to only give two or three A's, then students wouldn't be penalized for taking that class as opposed to taking a class where everyone gets A's or B's," Johnson said.
The proposal going before the Faculty Council suggests using the AI system specifically to award degrees with distinction, as well as for admission into the Honors Program and to determine class rank.
The AI number would be placed on transcripts along with the regular GPA, but the AI number would not be taken into consideration in determining graduation eligibility.
"It might provide graduate schools and professional schools a better representation of how students have done," Johnson said.
The disparity of grades is not a problem unique to UNC, Perrin said.
"It's very common in higher education," he said. "You wouldn't tend to find these issues at a university that has a very narrow curriculum," he said, giving the example of an engineering school.
"There you would tend to find more similar grading practices."
Perrin noted that UNC is the only university that is looking at using the Achievement Index as a specific means for combatting grade discrepancies.
Instead, many institutions have attempted to solve the problem by listing the median grade for a class next to the grade that a student received, he said.
If the Faculty Council passes the measure, implementing the system would require no extra work on the part of professors, said Joe Templeton, chairman of the faculty. The system would be maintained by the University registrar office.
Templeton said he expects the proposal to spark conversation among faculty and students.
"I wouldn't expect it to change faculty outlook," Templeton said. "I think you will hear in the discussion differences in what grades are for."
And if the council chooses to move forward with the measure, it could help clarify things for some on the outside of higher education.
"I think there is concern in the outside world that they don't know how to interpret college grades," Perrin said.
He said GPA still would be included on transcripts and serve an important purpose.
"The hope is and the expectation is that it would have positive effects for our students," he said. "We're not leaving the old methods either."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Achievement Index
What is AI?
The Achievement Index is similar to GPA in that it measures students' performance through grades received in their classes. Unlike GPA measurements, AI aims to assess student performance independent of the grading methods used in the different classes.
What will AI be used for?
AI would be used in determining acceptance into the Honors program, awarding degrees with distinction and determining class rank. It cannot be used to meet graduation requirements.
SOURCE: perrin.socsci.unc.edu/fg/aifaq.html#whatis
The proposed system would be based on the Achievement Index, a statistical system similar to grade point averages.
The main difference between the Achievement Index and GPAs is that AI takes into account varying grading systems across departments and courses.
"Both are summaries of the grades that students get," said Andrew Perrin, a member of the subcommittee for grading, which compiled a proposal for the council.
"The problem with GPA for comparing the performance of different students is the grading practices vary greatly across departments," Perrin said.
The academic index helps even out the playing field for students taking classes where professors grade more stringently, said Valen Johnson, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who created the system while he was a faculty member at Duke University.
"If one professor decides that he's going to only give two or three A's, then students wouldn't be penalized for taking that class as opposed to taking a class where everyone gets A's or B's," Johnson said.
The proposal going before the Faculty Council suggests using the AI system specifically to award degrees with distinction, as well as for admission into the Honors Program and to determine class rank.
The AI number would be placed on transcripts along with the regular GPA, but the AI number would not be taken into consideration in determining graduation eligibility.
"It might provide graduate schools and professional schools a better representation of how students have done," Johnson said.
The disparity of grades is not a problem unique to UNC, Perrin said.
"It's very common in higher education," he said. "You wouldn't tend to find these issues at a university that has a very narrow curriculum," he said, giving the example of an engineering school.
"There you would tend to find more similar grading practices."
Perrin noted that UNC is the only university that is looking at using the Achievement Index as a specific means for combatting grade discrepancies.
Instead, many institutions have attempted to solve the problem by listing the median grade for a class next to the grade that a student received, he said.
If the Faculty Council passes the measure, implementing the system would require no extra work on the part of professors, said Joe Templeton, chairman of the faculty. The system would be maintained by the University registrar office.
Templeton said he expects the proposal to spark conversation among faculty and students.
"I wouldn't expect it to change faculty outlook," Templeton said. "I think you will hear in the discussion differences in what grades are for."
And if the council chooses to move forward with the measure, it could help clarify things for some on the outside of higher education.
"I think there is concern in the outside world that they don't know how to interpret college grades," Perrin said.
He said GPA still would be included on transcripts and serve an important purpose.
"The hope is and the expectation is that it would have positive effects for our students," he said. "We're not leaving the old methods either."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Achievement Index
What is AI?
The Achievement Index is similar to GPA in that it measures students' performance through grades received in their classes. Unlike GPA measurements, AI aims to assess student performance independent of the grading methods used in the different classes.
What will AI be used for?
AI would be used in determining acceptance into the Honors program, awarding degrees with distinction and determining class rank. It cannot be used to meet graduation requirements.
SOURCE: perrin.socsci.unc.edu/fg/aifaq.html#whatis
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