Problem Statement
High-stakes testing and punitive grading systems induce extreme grade anxiety, driving students toward paralysis, panic-cheating, or abandoning courses after an early failure rather than learning from mistakes.
Measurable Goals
Normalize failure as an essential diagnostic step in the engineering learning cycle, drastically reduce grade anxiety, and provide clear, objective, self-directed recovery pathways.
Course Solutions & Policies
- Retroactive Grade Replacement: Final exam score replaces the lowest midterm score if the student attempts (non-zero score) at least 80% of assigned homework sets and completes exam corrections.
- Review Center "Buy Back": Log 8 active hours in the Knewton Test Review Center (4 hours per assignment) to convert up to 2 zero-score homework sets per unit to 100% scores, restoring retroactive grading eligibility.
- Self-Auditing Canvas Quiz: A 0-point, unlimited-attempt Canvas Audit Quiz allows students to independently check retro-grading eligibility without asking permission or feeling awkward.
- Exam Correction Pathways: Structured post-mortems done in office hours transform midterm mistakes into deep conceptual learning and reclaimed eligibility.
Related Network Nodes
- Parent Concept: Rigorous Empathy Framework
- Connected Policies: Inequitable Math Pipeline, Weight of First-Gen Expectations, Family Caregiver Demographics, Rote-Learning Transition