Group work. An excellent prelude to work on Rawls or as a way to prepare students for discussions about welfare, affirmative action, and other contemporary moral problems. It's best to make students believe that the class grading system is being scrapped in favor of this. Though not all will believe it, most will, and all will participate vigorously.
N.B. Point values will have to be adjusted based on the size the groups. For example, this example assumes groups of 6 dividing up +36 extra points. A class with groups of 5 might divide up + 30 points (with grades: 55, 70, 75, 83, 93), while groups of 4 would divid +24 (grades: 55, 70, 83, 93).
Grading is hard work. I have to reward the highest levels of achievement with the highest grades. I also want to reward hard work, but the hardest work doesn't always result in the highest levels of achievement. This is because natural capacities as well as educational backgrounds differ, and through no fault of our own. So I often feel that, in spite of my long and careful efforts, the grading remains somehow unfair.
I'm going to try a new way of grading that will be more fair, and that won't require so much fruitless work on my part. First, I'll assign test grades randomly. Don't worry: I'll make sure that the class average is still reasonable. (That will please the Dean; it will probably make you guys feel better, too.) But since I don't want to leave you all in complete subjection to chance, I'll let you decide how to distribute some extra available points in a way that you think is fair. Of course, if it's going to be fair, you'll have to decide how to distribute the extra points before you find out what your randomly assigned grade will be. I don't want those who got lucky to take unfair advantage of those who are unfortunate.
Here's what to do: gather yourselves into groups of six. For each group, I'll assign random grades between 50 and 100, with an average of 74%. For each group, there will be 36 extra points available (so the average will turn out to be 80%). You decide -- the decision must be unanimous -- how to distribute them. Then we'll find out who gets what grades.
I'll also adjust your grade up or down at the end of the semester in the light of class attendance and informed participation. That's to keep you all working and contributing for the rest of the semester. I promise to continue working hard, too.
This system of grading will provide for (1) incentive and reward for hard work; (2) randomly distributed base for your grades, much like the way your talents and educational backrounds were distributed in the first place -- but this time with a guaranteed healthy average! (3) a democratically determined measure for correcting the "unfairness" of (2).
Latest Update by DLH: March 1, 1999