2024 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)

Grading: The (Mis)use of Mathematics in Measuring Student Learning and its Disproportionate Impact on Equity and Inclusion

Presented at Track 8: Technical Session 4: Grading: The (Mis)use of Mathematics in Measuring Student Learning and its Disproportionate Impact on Equity and Inclusion

What do most engineering and computing classrooms have in common? Almost all classes, both in the K-12 educational system as well as the higher ed world, use some form of a points-and-percentages based grading system to “measure” student learning and give a final “grade” in the form of either a letter grade or a pass/fail mark. In this presentation, we will explore the destructive nature of this traditional grading method including:
• The misuse of the mathematics of points, percentages, and averages
• The historical development of this system, built in part to reflect traditional social standing
• The ways in which traditional grading actively works against innovative and inclusive pedagogical change
• The inequitable nature of the artificial scarcity built-in to traditional grading.
• The eugenics behind utilizing a “normal curve” for grading

Participants in this presentation will be invited to take a critical lens to their current grading practices, to understand some of the unspoken assumptions that are embedded in it, and to consider some alternative options. From grading systems that take a collaborative approach to working with students to systems that allow for multiple approaches to be utilized by students to demonstrate learning, revisiting our grading practices has been shown to be a multiplicative factor in enhancing the effectiveness of a wide variety of inclusive pedagogies, including active learning, problem-based curricula, and flipped classrooms. Additionally, these alternative grading structures allow for more flexibility to equitably accommodate a wide variety of student situations while minimizing additional workload on the instructor. With examples drawn from Engineering and Mathematics classrooms in a Hispanic-Serving Institution, we will share first-hand experiences of the improvement in student learning that comes from discarding traditional grading in favor of alternative grading systems that center student learning. We will consider how identity permeates the design of grading systems and the different impacts that grading choices have on both faculty and students based on their identities. We will share our experiences with course redesign at an HSI, including the intersection of the redesign process with both instructor and student identity and needs. Through the centering of student learning, faculty can regain the opportunity for true partnerships with students, engaging more in content based discussions and learning with students as opposed to “grade-grubbing”, antagonistic conversations about points.

Authors

Prof. Sharona Krinsky California State University, Los Angeles [biography]

Sharona Krinsky is an instructor and course coordinator in the Mathematics department at California State University, Los Angeles and the co-PI of the NSF funded project "Commitment to Learning Instilled by a Mastery-Based Undergraduate Program (CLIMB-UP). She works with faculty on redesigning courses to utilize the principles of mastery-based grading in order to enhance student success and enable increased equity, inclusion, and access to careers in STEM fields for students from historically underrepresented groups. Sharona is a founding organizer of "The Grading Conference", an annual two-day online conference focused on reforming grading as we know it across STEM fields throughout higher education, now entering its fifth year. She coordinates a large general education Quantitative Reasoning with Statistics course for over 1,400 students per year as well as teaches a wide range of mathematics courses including Calculus and Linear Algebra.
Mr. Robert Christopher Bosley California State University, Los Angeles
Dr. Dina Verdin http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-6048-1104 Arizona State University, Polytechnic Campus [biography]

Dina Verdín, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Engineering at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. She graduated from San José State University with a BS in Industrial Systems Engineering and from Purdue University with an MS in Industrial Engineering and PhD in Engineering Education. Her research program promotes equity and inclusion in engineering by confronting the pervasive barriers facing minoritized students. Her work addresses the challenges Latinx, first-generation college students, and women in engineering face by focusing on two research strands: access and persistence. Dr. Verdín seeks to create culturally responsive opportunities that broaden engineering access while simultaneously dismantling the systemic obstacles that hinder minoritized students’ identity development and persistence. With this work, Dr. Verdín is committed to transforming engineering education and ensuring that all minoritized students can thrive. She currently has three active grants with the National Science Foundation aimed at supporting the mission of her research program. She has won several awards, including the 2022-2023 Outstanding Research Publication Award by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division I, the 2022 ASEE ERM Apprentice Faculty Grant, and the 2018 ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Best Diversity Paper Award.
Eva Schiorring STEMEVAL [biography]

Eva Schiorring has almost two decades of experience in research and evaluation and special knowledge about STEM education in community colleges and four-year institutions. She presently serves as the external evaluator for four NSF-funded projects. The
Dr. Emily L. Allen California State University, Los Angeles [biography]

Emily L. Allen, Ph.D., is Dean of the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology at California State University, Los Angeles. She believes in a collaborative, student-centered approach to research, education, academic administration and lea

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