Assistant Professor Adam Carberry assists students in his class. Photographer: Nick Narducci/ASU
The modern grading system makes it difficult for students and faculty alike to judge skill mastery and progress, which should be the goal of education rather than getting an A on a particular assignment or test. Three professors including Arizona State University Assistant Professor Adam Carberry may have found the solution: standards-based grading (SBG). They found that by switching lecture-based classes to project-based classes with rubric-like grading students develop their skills and understand where their strengths and weaknesses lie rather than just working for an A, and instructors know what they’re students do well on and what they need to work on. In an article by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Carberry and other professors and students discuss the difference SBG has made in their engineering education.
