Teaching and Educational Methods

Assessing Student Learning Using a Digital Grading Platform

Andrew W. Stevens
Mississippi State University

JEL Codes: A20, A12
Keywords: Assessment, digital grading, student learning objectives

Publish Date: November 30, 2022
Volume 1, Issue 1

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Abstract

Effective assessment of student learning is challenging for several reasons. Not only do learning assessments usually crowd out instructional time, but it can be difficult to assess higher-order cognitive aspects of student learning. In this commentary, I present a method for assessing student learning through the use of a digital grading platform that addresses both of these issues. I discuss a case study where this method was implemented and utilized to inform course design, and I argue that digital grading platforms expand instructors’ options for student learning assessments.

Acknowledgements: This work would not have been possible without the collaboration and support of several anonymous administrators and instructors of the course studied in this article. I am greatly appreciative of their partnership. I have no commercial relationship with Gradescope, the digital grading platform discussed in this article, and my commentary should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any particular commercial product. This research has been determined exempt by the Mississippi State University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research under protocol IRB-18-367. Any remaining errors are my own. About the Author: Andrew W. Stevens is an Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University. (Corresponding Author: a.stevens@msstate.edu)

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