2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In this research paper, we will assess the perceptions of students and faculty in two undergraduate engineering courses taught with a Standards-Based Grading (SBG) approach. SBG is an alternative grading approach that places focus on evaluating students’ mastery of course learning objectives, rather than using the traditional 0-100% scale. Unlike traditional grading systems, SBG aims to provide more clear expectations about what students should know, as well as clarify their progress towards each of these outcomes. Implementing SBG has been shown to improve students’ intrinsic motivation and focus on mastery. Previous work has shown that faculty perceive that SBG provides benefits such as more direct feedback to students, improving students’ abilities to self-assess, and a greater focus on learning.

In this pilot study, we will take a case study approach to better understand how student perceptions of SBG compare to faculty perceptions in two engineering courses– Circuits and Fluids. These two engineering courses are taught by two engineering professors that have implemented “tokens” into their course grading system. Rather than getting a percentage on every assignment that turns into an averaged grade, students earn tokens that represent meeting a course objective for a specific topic. When students submit an assignment, the instructor either awards the token or provides feedback about what needs to be done to receive the token through a resubmission. At the end of the course, the number of tokens earned translates into a final grade. This approach is designed to help students understand what topics and skills they are expected to master and their progress towards mastery. Ultimately, the goal is to place more focus on the learning rather than earning points. However, it is unclear if this goal ultimately aligns with the lived student experience.

This pilot study is part of a larger, multiple case study research project with the goal to better understand how student perceptions of this token-based grading system compare to faculty perceptions. Interviews were conducted with the instructors and two students from each course. The semi-structured interviews prompt the faculty for their goals and motivations when designing this grading system; and prompt students for their experiences in the course and perceived strengths and challenges in the approach. Interview transcripts will be analyzed with thematic analysis, and results will show areas of alignment and areas of disagreement between the perceptions of faculty and students. The findings present takeaways for both the structure of and messaging about alternative grading schemes, and we will share these findings in the format of a round table discussion or similar.