Are grades useful for Assessment?

[Spangehl]

What do you think of the usefulness of course grades in assessment? Although they are not very consistent or reliable metrics, they do appear to have meaning to teachers, students, parents, and employers, all of whom use grades as indiators of learning. So there must be something of value in the grades themselves, and there ought to be a way to extract this value and use it in an assessment process. Any ideas?

[vrajago]

Grades would be useful for assessment if they remain anonymous, aggregate and are the outcomes of exams and assignments that require more than the demonstration of mastery of the topic. In other words, even the usual multiple choice type of tests can be useful if the contents require students to apply their knowledge to solve a real life issue pertaining to the area being tested. I would use grades as an assessment tool with caution. Assignments requiring higher order thinking and problem solving can yield grades that truly reflect the assessment of student achievement. This approach is a wonderful tool for faculty to assess their own teaching styles and also for gauging the outcomes of their appraoches. Lot of information can be derived for enhancing student learning and success.