5 Point Competency Scale

In this chapter:

Intent
Problem
Solution
Applicability
How to Implement
See Also
Source
Community Discussion

Intent

Reduce the cognitive complexity of points-based grading with a grading scale that communicates what level of understanding a student has achieved on a learning outcome or skill.

Problem

Traditional points-based grading can lead to confusion for both students and instructors. It is difficult for students to understand what, for instance, a score of 8/10 means on an assignment. Does this mean that a student achieved 80% “mastery” of a topic, or that the student met 8 of the 10 objectives of the assignment, or something else entirely? Similarly, it can be challenging for instructors to equate points values to demonstration of learning. For instance, is a minor mistake worth 1 points or 2 points off? How many points should an instructor deduct for answers that demonstrate only partial understanding of a topic?

In addition, when assessments are assigned points, and these points are averaged, the average can provide a flawed picture of student achievement of learning outcomes. For instance, a student who earns a course average of 80% might have mastered 80% of the learning outcomes of the course, or may have mastered 80% of each learning outcome of the course, or some other mathematically plausible scenario that averages out to 80%.

Solution

Use a 5-point grading scale emphasizing competency levels for each core competency. Start by specifying the core competencies that will be assessed in the course. Each core competency is then evaluated on a 5-point scale, such as the one below.

Mastery: complete understanding of concept, ability to apply concepts in a variety of scenarios.
Approaching Mastery: understands and can apply concepts to scenarios not explicitly covered in the course.
Proficiency: can provide definitions of core concepts and apply them to scenarios covered in the course.
Basic: partial or limited understanding of core concepts.
Inconclusive: no demonstration of understanding, or instructor cannot determine student’s level of understanding

Final course grades are determined by the number of competencies achieved at various levels. (For instance, an A corresponds to 4 competencies at Mastery level and all others at Approaching Mastery.)

Applicability

Reduced grading scales such as the example above can be used in a variety of courses to assess a variety of learning outcomes: quiz / exam questions, demonstration of skills, etc. It can be used in specifications-based grading or standards-based grading.

How to Implement

Many course management systems allow instructors to define their own grading scales. These scales are often converted to points “under the hood”, but sometimes these points can be hidden from students.
Instructors may choose to reduce the number of levels in the rubric and/or the rubric labels, depending on the nature of their course assessments. For instance, in an introductory-level course with exam questions that assess particular concepts, the instructor may opt for a 3-level rubric such as “successful”, “revisable”, “not yet”.

Source

Source: Fine, Benjamin T. 2024. Competency and Equity Driven Grading System for Computer Science Curriculum. In Proceedings of the 2024 Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 1 (ITiCSE 2024), July 8–10, 2024, Milan, Italy. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 7 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3649217.3653564

Described by: Amy Csizmar Dalal (adalal@carleton.edu)

Community Discussion

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