Grade cutoffs are arbitrary because adjacent scores receiving different grades are not significantly different, per the author's statistical argument¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r1 · q1
Currency · newest study 1971 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Evidence quality · No study behind this claim is a peer-reviewed article with a DOI: it rests on an ERIC document (a report, conference paper or thesis). It is kept because 4 design pages cite it; treat it as a lead to check, not an established finding.

Subclaims¶

q1 i? Differential grading on test scores is arbitrary because scores on either side of a cutoff are not significantly different from each other. → Gentile 1971

Evidence¶

Gentile 1971¶

Gentile, J. Ronald. (1971). Toward Excellence in Teaching: Grading Practices. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED061264

q1 · i? · theoretical · r1

Analytical argument from measurement theory in this essay: even a perfectly reliable test would make rank-based grading arbitrary, since "the score which falls into the area neceiving one grade is not significantly different" from the adjacent-grade score. The author cites his example that 89% and 90% differ unreliably.

"at almost any cutoff point the score which falls into the area neceiving one grade is not significantly different from the closest score falling into the area receiving an adjacent grade."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• DC estimates tend to be lowest when the cut score is set at the peak of the score distribution, where inconsistent decisions are most likely — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Criterion-referenced tests require empirically-based construct validation studies — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• The chi-square significance test for NC-DIF is overly sensitive at large sample sizes, requiring an empirical cutoff value — related
• Abandoning assessment entirely is not an acceptable alternative to competitive grading, per the author's argument — related
• A study qualifies as an RD design only if assignment uses an ordinal forcing variable with at least four unique values on each side of the cutoff and no confounding factor — related
• Competitive (norm-referenced) grading pits students against one another and discourages cooperation, according to the author's argument — related
• At the median cutoff, proactive and reactive tutoring show no significant difference in MAP growth, with proactive benefits increasing for students farther below the cutoff — related