ERIC Number: EJ1136279
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jul
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1931-4744
EISSN: N/A
Impact of Peer Evaluation Confidentiality on Student Marks
Peterson, Christina Hamme; Peterson, N. Andrew
International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, v5 n2 Article 13 Jul 2011
Although group work is commonly used in university-level instruction, social loafing, domineering team members, poor attenders, and inequitable distribution of marks have been identified as obstacles to team-based learning. Peer evaluation has been proposed as one vehicle to address these issues. For use in grading, peer evaluations are often anonymous; however, as tools to address team functioning, they should not be conducted anonymously, but rather with the results discussed as feedback. It has been suggested, however, that non-confidential peer evaluations will artificially elevate students' marks. In this study, we investigated the impact of peer evaluation confidentiality on students' marks. Without a weighted correction, confidential evaluations significantly dropped students' marks while non-confidential evaluations raised them. Implications for practice are discussed.
Descriptors: Peer Evaluation, Confidentiality, Grades (Scholastic), Grading, Group Behavior, Underachievement, Group Activities, Graduate Students, Cooperative Learning, Correlation, Grade Inflation, Statistical Analysis
Centers for Teaching & Technology at Georgia Southern University. IJ-SoTL, Georgia Southern University, Henderson Library 1301, Statesboro, GA 30460. e-mail: sotlij@georgiasouthern.edu; Web site: http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A