This study investigates the status of grade inflation in language and translation courses in Saudi Arabia. Analysis of the pass rates and percentages of students who obtained Grades A+, A, B+ and B in 70 English language skills and translation college courses, in addition to the English course scores of students in grades 1 to 11 at a private…

A number of studies have documented a trend of higher grades awarded by postsecondary institutions in both the United States and Canada over the last two decades. Grade inflation in higher education is a potentially costly problem for a variety of reasons, but little empirical research about the causes of grade inflation has been conducted. This…

Students' evaluation of faculty and courses continue to be the most often used gauge in higher education of how well courses are taught. Faculty are particularly concerned that student ratings are highly associated with the grades students expect to receive. However, newer research on student engagement suggests that it is students' own…

Scott Jaschik's (2010) article "Who Really Failed?" details the experience of Dominique Homberger, a tenured faculty member at Louisiana State University (LSU) who was removed from teaching her introductory biology course citing student complaints in regards to "the extreme nature" of the grading policy. This removal has…

This article examines how a faculty member's status--either tenured or tenure-track--might affect the grades assigned to students in a writing class. We begin with a brief review of the research surrounding faculty to student assessment practices and follow with specific controversies regarding faculty motivation pertaining to grading practices.…

Student evaluations to measure the teaching effectiveness of instructor's are very frequently applied in higher education for many years. This study investigates the factors associated with the assessment of instructors teaching performance using two different data mining techniques; stepwise regression and decision trees. The data collected…

Purpose: Student evaluation of teaching (SET) questionnaires are used in many countries, although much current research questions the validity of these surveys. US research indicates that more than 90 percent of academic accounting departments use this performance measurement. This paper aims to focus on the validity of SET data.…

Some professors argue that it is possible to "buy" higher course evaluations by grading more leniently and requiring less work. This study investigated the relations of student effort, appropriateness of class difficulty, and course evaluations with a sample of 463 undergraduates from a mid-sized, Midwestern university. Findings support…

The widespread acceptance of the phrase "grade inflation" poses a potentially damaging overstatement in reference to higher education. Grades are at an all-time high, but a review of the literature demonstrates that the improvement is not incongruous with a rise in faculty development programs and increased varieties of student support services.…

The main argument is that standards for certifying teachers are too lax. It is argued that this might have been acceptable when there was a shortage of teachers, but, now that there is an oversupply of teachers, it is time to certify only the best qualified. The author criticizes certification practices which ignore thoretical standards and…

A series of research studies were examined to investigate the relative effectiveness of teaching evaluations at the college level. The six research variables considered are: teaching effectiveness and its relationship to research productivity; grades given and the relationship to teaching effectiveness evaluation; immediately administered…

Issues pertaining to the validity of student ratings of teaching effectiveness are considered, and research results are evaluated. The following extraneous variables that affect student ratings but are not under the control or influence of the teacher are examined: class size, initial student motivation, academic field, teacher characteristics,…

This handbook on teaching is divided into seven parts. Following the introduction (Part I), Part II presents essays on student and faculty rights and responsibilities, evaluation and assessment, grades, and teaching and efficiency. Part III is a summary of interviews on teaching and research with 20 professors from the University of Kansas…

This conference report focuses on higher education and includes papers on the following topics: (1) the role of institutional research, (2) management information needs and decisionmaking, (3) teacher effectiveness, (4) student-faculty ratios, (5) professorial attitudes toward work environment, (6) grading and attendance in the instructional…

Summarizes the following nine areas of institutional research prepared by Harcum Junior College from the period July to December 1971: (1) Alumnae Comments and Achievements; (2) College Curriculums, Programs and Characteristics; (3) Faculty Comments and Evaluation; (4) Freshmen Applicants; (5) Student Academic Achievement; (6) Student…