(107b) Implementation of Achievement-Based Grading in Chemical Engineering Core Classes

Achievement-Based Grading (also similarly referred to as Specifications Grading or Mastery Grading) is an assessment structure where students work towards demonstration of learning and skills and a final grade is awarded based on the number and level of achievements successfully completed. While implementations are varied, common themes include distinction between simple and more complex assessments, significant flexibility in when (and often in what order) learning and skills can be demonstrated, and opportunities to grow through failure by re-taking unsuccessful assessments. Some other aspects that may be found in particular implementations include pathways to the highest grade available without having to show achievement in all skills covered in the course and the ability to demonstrate achievement though a variety of means.

This assessment structure has appealed to educators for a number of reasons. One is the potential to streamline grading and make delivery of challenging material more manageable, though this ultimately depends on the particular implementation. Some more generally applicable benefits are associated primarily with a shift in student perceptions of what assessment means and how progress through curricular topics is accomplished. The focus is placed on the topical material and course outcomes and students’ ability to demonstrate those outcomes by the end of the term. Instead of worrying (or perhaps complaining) about how points were lost on one assessment or another, students instead have a path forward where their grade is earned based on demonstrated achievements and where they are encouraged to revisit topics until mastery can be shown (which can cut down on the prevalence of cheating). This structure also facilitates a straightforward means of directly challenging the average student to achieve a higher degree of learning in a course. Furthermore, instructors can readily project a supporting role in the progression of students’ development. Instead of feeling like grades were unfairly or even arbitrarily determined, students can see the expectations from the beginning and relate their final grade to their own accomplishments, or lack thereof.

A variation of Achievement-Based Grading has been successfully implemented in a Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics 1 course (entering its fourth iteration in Fall 2022) and is being implemented for the first time in a Materials and Energy Balances course in Fall 2022. The details and evolution of this implementation, lessons learned, student feedback, and impacts on student learning will be discussed.