2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Abstract requirements:
a. The authors plan to submit a full paper by the deadline and deliver an oral presentation at the conference in June.
b. The assessment methods used include student performance, student surveys, and instructor feedback.
c. Student responses were positive; student performance and instructor satisfaction increased.
d. This paper falls under the topic “New teaching and learning strategies”.

In a traditional STEM course student work is evaluated using points, allowing students to receive partial credit on the problems attempted. Final grades are then determined by combining the scores on the formative (homework) and summative (tests) assessments using some predetermined formula. In some cases, attendance, class participation, and lab work may factor in the final grade calculation. Although this works reasonably well, the final grade does not accurately reflect student knowledge.

Standards-based grading is a more authentic way to assess student achievement. In a course using authentic grading, course grades are based on student proficiency in specific topics, called standards. Standards are regularly assessed and opportunities for students to reassess are offered periodically. Final grades are assigned based on the number of standards a student has ultimately mastered resulting in a final grade that more accurately reflects student knowledge.

During the Fall of 2023, two sophomore-level course offerings were modified to use standards-based grading to assess student learning. Circuits I was taught by a faculty member from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, while Electricity and Magnetism was taught by a faculty member from the Department of Physics. These two faculty members collaborated during the summer prior to the start of the semester but ultimately adopted a slightly different approach to standards-based grading. The list of standards for each course will be shared in this paper as well as the course logistics.

These two courses are required for all engineering students and as such approximately one-third of the students were common to both course offerings. Quantitative and qualitative results indicating student performance and student feedback will be shared. Lessons learned and future work will also be presented.