Teaching Tip: Do your students deserve an A?

April 21, 2015

Marissa Carl

What type of work genuinely merits an A grade? The UAF grading system describes an A grade as appropriate for work that “indicates a thorough mastery of course content and outstanding performance in completion of course requirements.”

One of your many challenges as an instructor is to determine what constitutes “mastery” of the course material, as well as assessing, over and over again, if students are demonstrating that mastery via the work you’ve assigned.

If you’re reviewing the value of an A in your course, think about the following elements:

• What does “mastery” of your course content look like?


• Are you creating assignments that allow students to demonstrate their mastery/adequacy in more than one way?


• How could an adequate student work to excel in your course?


• How are you explaining your grading standards to students?

Read more about assessment on iTeachU.

— Teaching Tip by Brooke Sheridan, UAF eLearning instructional designer