Are UK degree standards going up, down or sideways
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4097578 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lewis Elton (University College London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 35-42 |
| Publication date | 1998-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03075079812331380472 |
| OpenAlex | W2014072045 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 18 |
| References cited | 6 |
It is argued that the most likely explanation of the upward drift in degree results over the past two decades is that the assessment instrument has been changed, through the inclusion of coursework (so that it now does not measure what it measured before), although the degree boundaries have been left unchanged. If this is so, then the effect reflects bad practice on the part of examiners rather than changes in student achievement. To discover whether there have been changes in student achievement requires a comparison of student performance with fixed standards. This article discusses the extent to which this can be achieved in practice and proposes appropriate means for achieving it
Academic achievement · Coursework · Higher education · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Physics · Political science · Student achievement · Evaluation of Teaching Practices · Higher Education and Employability · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Student Assessment and Feedback
Secondary school grades and graduate returns to education in the UK
Institutional Bias and the Degree Class System
Measuring changes in higher-order cognition through the assessment of complex knowledge over time
Coursework versus examinations in end-of-module assessment
Equity, justice and standards
Marking the Difference
Coursework Marks High, Examination Marks Low
Self‐help in research and development relating to assessment
The Impact of Coursework on Degree Classifications and the Performance of Individual Students
The local practices of assessment
Discipline‐related Marking Behaviour Using Percentages
Assessment moderation
The Value of a Programme-wide Approach to Assessment
Grade inflation versus grade improvement
The Effects of Aggregation Method and Variations in the Performance of Individual Students on Degree Classifications in Modular Degree Courses
Gender difference added? Institutional variations in the gender gap in first class degree awards in mathematical sciences
Just Deserts? Grade Inflation and Desert-Based Justice in English Higher Education
Grade inflation in UK higher education
| Unique citing works | 18 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.67 |
| Citation span | 1999 - 2023 (25) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 18 |