Mean, Median, and Mode
I have always felt the calculation of grades using an average was the worst possible method available. If a student missed one assignment, or perhaps was having a bad day, and scored poorly, their final grade will suffer significantly, and wont reflect their typical work.
This also puts unnecessary pressure on students, beyond the pressures they feel to learn and understand the course content. They feel like they aren't allowed to experience external factors, such as life events, because if they negativity impact their school life, they are penalized for it. This mindset is not realistic, and should be avoided, as we all live life, and with life comes road bumps.
Instead of using an average (mean), I believe the median or mode should be used to determine a student's final mark. This allows students to feel less worried about how the one assignment they did poorly on will affect their final grade.
The median would reflect the middle number (central tenancy) of all the student's grades. This would weed out any skewed results, such as a missed assignment, and would instead reflect the student's overall grades.
The mode would also work to reflect an accurate depiction of a student's grades, as it is the most common grade to appear within that student's work. I would group them according to the tenths, such as all 40's, all 50's, all 60's, etc. This would show the most common grade range for this student, eliminating the one zero they received for a missed assignment. I think this method reflects the student's work more accurately.
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