Auto-grading versus Instructor Grading in Online English Courses
Automatic grading is commonly used as a pedagogical tool, and has become even more prevalent due to the growing popularity of Massive Open Online Courses. However, its effects on students’ learning outcomes in online high-school courses are not yet clear. This study therefore examined 738 enrollment records in high-school English Language Arts courses using hierarchical linear modeling, and found no effect of the quantity or proportion of auto-graded work on final grades. In addition, the results of decision-tree analyses suggested that, in the case of instructor-graded work, the ratio of points attempted to points earned emerged as a useful means of dividing student pass rates into three clusters.