Finessing Grades
May 1, 2008
Put these numbers in order: 
Here’s the context: Suppose (hypothetically, you know) you’re grading exams on a percentage scale (93% and above is an A, 90-92% is an A-, etc) and after adding scores you realize that maybe because of an unusually difficult problem, the points don’t quite match your overall impression in the sense that the exams that indicate a deep understanding should be the ones that get an A. Now suppose that by adjusting the scores by 5 points they do seem to match up and this is simpler than going back and revising the partial credit schemes on the whole exam. Click for looking at different ways to do this and the surprising result (surprising to me, anyway) that what benefits the student most depends on how low or high the students grade was. It’s not as simple as I would have thought.
