The hybrid grading contract helps resist grade inflation by reserving grades above B for exceptionally high quality¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r2 · q1
Currency · newest study 2009 · 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is a peer-reviewed article with a DOI: it rests on a source with no registered publication record (a web page, book or unpublished report). It is kept because 2 design pages cite it; treat it as a lead to check, not an established finding.

Subclaims¶

q1 i? Making the process of earning grades higher than B special and quality-focused maintains an aura of excellence, and disqualifying students who do not meet contract terms cuts down on grade inflation. → Danielewicz 2009

Evidence¶

Danielewicz 2009¶

Danielewicz, Jane and Peter Elbow. (2009). A Unilateral Grading Contract to Improve Learning and Teaching. College Composition and Communication 61(2). https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/23309

q1 · i? · theoretical · r2

One of four positive reasons the authors give for their hybrid approach of giving a B for behavior and insisting on quality for higher grades. This is their reasoned position from practice, not a measured result; they cite Myford, Marr, and Linacre on one-dimensional grades.

"Fourth, our hybrid grading contract helps us resist grade inflation. It's easier to maintain an aura of excellence for grades higher than B when the process of earning them is so special and emphasizes heightened vigilance about quality."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• A unilateral grading contract guarantees students a course grade of B based solely on completion of specified activities, not on judged writing quality — related
• Transcript grades are a blurred currency of performance information, partly due to grade inflation driven by student pressure — related
• Two writing teachers report that decoupling evaluation from grades under a grading contract lets them give blunter feedback that students can weigh, an account with no data reported — related
• The authors report that fourteen weeks of contract-required work improves writing quality enough to warrant a B — related