This type of learning doesn't always require the student to understand or analyze material, but demands that facts become crystallized in his or her memory. Formal letter grades become extremely important when it comes to this area of learning, which relies heavily on the standardized test. Let's face it-if you know a certain percentage of the material then you deserve the corresponding letter grade. Letter grades do pose a problem to students when professors have to evaluate non-standardized work like term papers. When grading work that has no definite right or wrong answer, a teacher may have a propensity to assign a grade based on whether he or she likes the topic or opinion of the piece rather than the student's actual work.
Supplemental portfolios are a feasible alternative to grading methods currently used in Virginia.
They will make grading less standardized and more personal. Colleges and universities should use individual student portfolios of coursework as addenda to other, more objective grades such as those gleaned from multiple-choice tests. This evaluation method resembles those used in assessing applicants to the University and other colleges. Admissions committees don't accept students solely because of their standardized test scores. These committees make clear that there is more to a student than just letters on a report card.