Grade Profiles

The Grade of F
F-level work fails to display an understanding of the basic nature of psychological thinking, and in any case does not display the psychological thinking skills and abilities which are at the heart of this course.

The work at the end of the course is as vague, imprecise, and unreasoned as it was in the beginning. There is little evidence that the student is genuinely engaged in the task of taking charge of his or her psychological thinking.

Many assignments appear to have been done pro forma, the student simply going through the motions without really putting any significant effort into thinking his or her way through them.

Consequently, the student is not analyzing psychological issues clearly, not formulating psychological information accurately, not distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information, not identifying key questionable psychological assumptions, not clarifying key psychological concepts, not identifying relevant psychological competing points of view, not reasoning carefully from clearly stated premises, or tracing psychological implications and consequences.

The students work does not display discernable psychological reasoning and problem-solving skills.

The Grade of D
D-level work shows only a minimal level understanding of what psychological thinking is, along with the development of some, but very little, psychological thinking skills or abilities.

D work at the end of the course, on the whole, shows only occasional psychological thinking skills, but frequent uncritical psychological thinking. Most assignments are poorly done. There is little evidence that the student is "reasoning" through the assignment.

Often the student seems to be merely going through the motions of the assignment, carrying out the form without getting into the spirit of it. D work rarely shows any effort to take charge of ideas, assumptions, inferences, and intellectual processes. In general, D-level thinking lacks discipline and clarity.

In D-level work, the student rarely analyzes psychological issues clearly and precisely, almost never formulates psychological information accurately, rarely distinguishes the relevant from the irrelevant, rarely recognizes key questionable assumptions, almost never clarifies key psychological concepts effectively, frequently fails to use psychological language in keeping with established professional usage, only rarely identifies relevant competing psychological points of view, and almost never reasons carefully from clearly stated premises, or recognizes important implications and consequences.

D-level work does not show good psychological reasoning and problem-solving skills and frequently displays poor reasoning and problem-solving skills.

The Grade of C
C-level work illustrates some but inconsistent achievement in grasping what psychological thinking is, along with the development of modest psychological thinking skills or abilities.

C-level work at the end of the course, it is true, shows some emerging psychological thinking skills, but also pronounced weaknesses as well. Though some assignments are reasonably well done, others are poorly done; or at best are mediocre.

There are more than occasional lapses in reasoning. Though psychological thinking terms and distinctions are sometimes used effectively, sometimes they are used quite ineffectively. Only on occasion does C-level work display a mind taking charge of its own ideas, assumptions, inferences, and intellectual processes. Only occasionally does C-level work display intellectual discipline and clarity.

The C-level student only occasionally analyzes psychological issues clearly and precisely, formulates psychological information accurately, distinguishes the relevant from the irrelevant, recognizes key questionable assumptions, clarifies key psychological concepts effectively, uses psychological language in keeping with established professional usage, identifies relevant psychological competing points of view, and reasons carefully from clearly stated premises, or recognizes important psychological implications and consequences. Sometimes the C-level student seems to be simply going through the motions of the assignment, carrying out the form without getting into the spirit of it.

On the whole, C-level work shows only modest and inconsistent psychological reasoning and problem-solving skills and sometimes displays weak reasoning and problem-solving skills.

The Grade of B
B-level work represents demonstrable achievement in grasping what psychological thinking is, along with the clear demonstration of a range of specific psychological thinking skills or abilities.

B-level work at the end of the course is, on the whole, clear, precise, and well-reasoned, though with occasional lapses into weak reasoning.

On the whole, psychological terms and distinctions are used effectively. The work demonstrates a mind beginning to take charge of its own ideas, assumptions, inferences, and intellectual processes.

The student often analyzes psychological issues clearly and precisely, often formulates psychological information accurately, usually distinguishes the relevant from the irrelevant, often recognizes key questionable assumptions, usually clarifies key psychological concepts effectively, typically uses psychological language in keeping with established professional usage, frequently identifies relevant psychological competing points of view, and shows a general tendency to reason carefully from clearly stated premises, as well as noticeable sensitivity to important implications and consequences.

B-level work displays good psychological reasoning and problem-solving skills.

The Grade of A
A-level work demonstrates real achievement in grasping what psychological thinking is, along with the clear development of a range of specific psychological thinking skills or abilities.

The work at the end of the course is, on the whole, clear, precise, and well-reasoned, though with occasional lapses into weak reasoning. In A-level work, psychological terms and distinctions are used effectively. The work demonstrates a mind beginning to take charge of its own ideas, assumptions, inferences, and intellectual processes.

The A-level student often analyzes psychological issues clearly and precisely, often formulates psychological information accurately, usually distinguishes the relevant from the irrelevant, often recognizes key questionable assumptions, usually clarifies key psychological concepts effectively, typically uses psychological language in keeping with established professional usage, frequently identifies relevant competing psychological points of view, and shows a general tendency to reason carefully from clearly stated premises, as well as noticeable sensitivity to important implications and consequences.

A-level work displays excellent psychological reasoning and problem-solving skills. The A student's work is consistently at a high level of intellectual excellence.

{This article is adapted from the resource: Critical Thinking Basic Theory and Instructional Structures.}

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