Gender-grade-gap zeroed out under a specific intro-physics assessment regime

高风险考试扩大性别差距，并在一门物理导论系列课程中导致系统性评分错误

High stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series

本文通过补考与不同风险考试的对比实验，论证物理导论考试中的性别差距源于考试风险而非学生物理能力差异，并建议教师采用低风险评估方式。

Relative impacts of different grade-scales on student success in introductory physics

In deciding on a student's grade in a class, an instructor generally needs to combine many individual grading judgments into one overall judgment. Two relatively common numerical scales used to specify individual grades are the 4-point scale (where each whole number 0-4 corresponds to a letter grade) and the percent scale (where letter grades A through D are uniformly distributed in the top 40% of the scale). This paper uses grading data from a single series of courses offered over a period of 10 years to show that the grade distributions emerging from these two grade scales differed in many w…

Percent Grade Scale Amplifies Racial/Ethnic Inequities in Introductory Physics

In previous work we analyzed databases for 95 classes to show that the percent grade scale was correlated with a much higher student fail rate than the 4.0 grade scale. This paper builds on this work and investigates equity gaps occurring under both scales. By employing a "Course Deficit Model" we attribute the responsibility for closing the gaps to those who are responsible for the policies that guide the course. When comparing course grades in classes graded using the percent scale with those in courses graded using the 4.0 scale, we find that students identifying as belonging to racial or e…

Grade inflation in introductory physics: the influence of out-of-class assignments

We report the results of statistical analysis performed on course grades for calculus-based introductory physics for data collected over a four-year period. We consider two important categories of scores: proctored (in-class proctored exams only) and proctored plus out-of-class (in-class proctored exams plus out-of-class assignments). The analysis revealed significant grade inflation in the proctored plus out-of-class scores. Quantile plots were used to compare the observed data and data modeled using the normal distribution. These plots revealed negligible correlation between the observed and…

Comment on "How perception of learning environment predicts male and female students' grades and motivational outcomes in algebra-based introductory physics courses"

A recent paper used structural equation modeling to infer effects of gender-dependent student attitudes on several outcomes of introductory physics courses. The model used is precisely Markov equivalent to an equally plausible approximation in which a key gender-dependent coefficient in determining attitudes is indistinguishable from zero. I also argue that the qualitative framing may attribute to students motivations that actually belong to their teachers.

同伴影响对物理自我效能感和成绩的影响：疫情前后微积分基础入门课程中通常独自学习或小组学习的学生的比较研究

Peer Influence on Physics Self-Efficacy and Grades: A comparative study of students in an introductory calculus-based course who typically worked alone or in groups before and during the pandemic

本研究比较了疫情前后微积分基础物理课程中独自学习与同伴合作学生的特征，发现同伴合作对物理自我效能感和成绩有积极影响，并对比了代数基础课程的结果。