Effects of Temporary Mark Withholding on Academic Performance

Abstract

Although feedback engagement is important for learning, students often do not engage with provided feedback to inform future assignments. One factor for low feedback uptake is the easy access to grades. Thus, systematically delaying the grade release in favor of providing feedback first— temporary mark withholding—may increase students’ engagement with feedback. We tested the hypothesis that temporary mark withholding would have positive effects on (a) future academic performance (Experiments 1 and 2) and (b) feedback engagement (Experiment 2) in authentic psychology university settings. For Experiment 1, 116 Year 2 students were randomly assigned to either a Grade-before-feedback or Feedback-before-grade condition for their report in semester 1 and performance was measured on a similar assessment in semester 2. In Experiment 2, a Year 3 student cohort ( t) was provided with feedback on their lab report before marks were released in semester 1 (mark withholding group, N = 97) and compared to the previous Year 3 cohort ( t-1) where individual feedback and grades were released simultaneously (historical control group, N = 90). Using this multi-methodological approach, we reveal positive effects of temporary mark withholding on future academic performance and students’ feedback engagement in authentic higher education settings. Practical implications are discussed.

Digital re‐attributional feedback in high school mathematics education and its effect on motivation and achievement

“…Three hundred twenty-two students on level 2 are a large enough sample size. However, three different grade levels on level 3 would not be considered enough contexts on the higher-level variable (Kreft & de Leeuw, 1998). In addition, the calculated variance of grade level was negligible (<1% of variance explained by level 3; χ 2 change = 0.0).…”

Deficiencies of Traditional Grading Systems and Recommendations for the Future

“…Engagement with feedback and future academic performance were improved when feedback was given before the grade was released compared to groups who received their grade followed by feedback. 32 Therefore, in order for feedback to be used effectively to improve performance, it must encourage the student to be "mindful" when responding 33 and it must move the learner to actively process the information. 34 Grades do not appear to stimulate either of these situations.…”

“…Although research literature does not provide best-practices with regard to timing of sequencing, the important factor is that students are forced to engage with the feedback before receiving the grade. 32 Finally, inherent challenges to widespread change exist as various programs across the Academy utilize different assessment and grading methods. These differences are not only a barrier to reform, but also make it problematic for employers to interpret.…”

Can grades be an effective form of feedback?

“…Some grading experts suggest we should do the same as was done with tests and simply change the name. For example, some suggest using "marks" to convey something less stigmatizing (Kuepper-Tetzel & Gardner, 2021). Others recommend "proficiency scales" (Hoegh, 2020) or "progress indicators" (Yang & Li, 2018) to measure fluctuating levels of performance rather than permanent achievement status.…”