This article explores the efficacy of specifications grading in undergraduate political science classes. Specifications grading organizes instruction around a set of learning objectives and evaluates student success based on the achievement of carefully articulated specifications for each assessment. Assessments are considered satisfactory or…

Formative assessment has long been identified as a critical element to teaching for conceptual development in science. It is therefore important for university instructors to have an arsenal of formative assessment tools at their disposal which enable them to effectively uncover and diagnose all students' thinking, not just the most vocal or…

Investigates compliance with required reading assignments from 1981 to 1997 (excluding 1984 and 1985) in psychology classes. Finds that compliance declined dramatically since 1981 and compliance improved as a function of increasing class level. Suggests a renewed emphasis on compliance with required reading assignments and an incorporation of…