Investigation of Evaluation Scheme for Slow and Advanced Learners: A Retrospective Approach

Abstract

In academia, there is no distinct approach to evaluate the students based on their cognitive abilities but the same set of exams decides the performance of all the students. This conventional paradigm may lack considering the basic needs of students, who struggle in understanding compared to their peers, termed as Slow learners. Thus, this study is focused on analyzing the needs and performance of Slow learners in the conventional Engineering education system and discusses the factors that need to be considered for effective evaluation of such students. The survey was conducted with 45 participants, and a thoughtfully designed questionnaire, targeting the distinct learning ability of students and the conventional evaluation process, was answered with invaluable suggestions from a wide range of participants from various backgrounds viz. academicians and students. The participants pointed towards the urgency of such an evaluation reform in Engineering education with a variety of possible strategies to reach this goal. Based on the observations from the answers to the questionnaire, an experimental setup for improving the performance of Slow learners was also framed. The results from this setup show remarkable improvement in the progress of Slow learners with enhancement in metrics like the gain value of 23 and percentage improvement of nearly 218%, which is a success for this study. Although the survey demanded a different evaluation method for Slow learners, it cannot be discarded that with the number of challenges like complex grading systems, potential bias, standardization issues, and institutional policies, it is difficult to implement. Thus, through suggestions from participants and with in-depth analysis, it can be concluded that rather than changing the evaluation scheme it will be feasible to diversify the present evaluation pattern keeping the flexibility and room for improvement of Slow learners. This study will prove as a navigator and a milestone for the challenges faced by many such students in Engineering colleges with evaluation systems that encompass the possible support mechanism.