Skip to main content
SWStudyWalks Search

Educational Psychology / Unit 12   EDP 1130 short lesson, about 20 seconds

Absolute and Relative Grading

Captions available

The idea

Absolute, or criterion-referenced, grading compares each student with a fixed standard; relative, or norm-referenced, grading compares students with one another, as in grading on the curve.

In practice

With absolute grading every student can earn an A; on a curve, only a set share can.

Where people slip

Relative grading discourages cooperation, since one student's gain is another's loss.

Your place on the trail

Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.

Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it  ·  Sources for Educational Psychology