2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Traditional high-stakes evaluation methods such as exams or quizzes are often criticized for their susceptibility to implicit bias, particularly the halo or horn effect, which can lead to significant grade discrepancies. Furthermore, students' performance may be adversely affected by anxiety stemming from their concerns about the instructor’s perception of their work. The central hypothesis of our study is that anonymous grading can mitigate grading bias and possibly alleviate student anxiety associated with assessments.
To explore this hypothesis, we will expand our previous efforts on anonymous grading published as a work-in-progress paper. Our first objective was the development of an easy-to-use tool designed to facilitate the administration of anonymous exams. This was achieved by incorporating the use of barcodes, which effectively decouple student identity from their work during the grading process. This novel system was piloted in two undergraduate-level chemical engineering courses, providing a practical and real-world context for our study.
The methodology of our research involved a comprehensive analysis of student performance across several exams, contrasting the outcomes with and without the implementation of anonymous grading. To ensure the robustness of our findings, students were randomly assigned to either control groups, which followed traditional grading practices, or test groups, which utilized the anonymous grading tool. Additionally, students were rotated between control and test sections for various exams throughout the course. This rotation strategy was crucial in ensuring that all students experienced both grading scenarios, thereby enriching the data set for subsequent analysis.
Our second objective revolves around the evaluation of the tool itself. It is essential to assess not only the efficacy of the tool in reducing bias but also its usability and acceptance among students. For this purpose, we will craft surveys aimed at garnering both qualitative and quantitative feedback from students. These surveys are designed to probe students' perceptions of the anonymous grading process, their experiences with the tool, and any observed impact on their performance and anxiety levels.
In summary, our study seeks to provide empirical evidence on the effectiveness of anonymous grading in reducing bias and improving student outcomes. The development of a novel barcode-based tool and the comprehensive analysis of its implementation in real-world classroom settings stand as the cornerstone of this research. We anticipate that the insights garnered from this study will have significant implications for educational practices and policies, promoting fairness and equity in academic assessments.