145 - The Wrap-Up Dilemma: Turning Evidence into a Final Grade with Dr. Tim Monk
About this episode
The episode discusses how to effectively combine various assessment types into a final grade with insights from Dr. Tim Monk.
In this episode, Sharona and Boz are joined by electrical engineering professor Tim Monk to tackle a surprisingly thorny piece of grading design: how to combine multiple types of assessment into a final course grade. Starting from a listener email that initially raised skepticism, the conversation unpacks Tim’s approach to blending standards-based grading for learning targets with specifications grading for projects—using a carefully designed weighted system at the final “wrap-up” stage. Rather than relying on averages throughout the course, Tim uses them intentionally at the end as a communication tool, avoiding common pitfalls like masking learning gaps or penalizing early mistakes. The discussion surfaces key tensions around grading philosophy, clarity for students, and the trade-offs between precision and flexibility, ultimately reinforcing a central theme of the podcast: there is no single “right” system—only intentional design aligned to what grades are meant to communicate about student learning. Links Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support! The 2…
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