Untying the Gordic knot of the Workshop module source code
Working on the Workshop 2.0 specification, I studied the current behaviour of the module. I needed to figure out how the calculation of grade for assessment (also known as grading grade) works. This part of the module has always been a mystery for me – and I was not alone. Before I learned how the calculation actually works, I proposed to rewrite it from scratch. Interesting. Is it just me tending to push own solutions instead of trying to understand someone else?
After some time studying the code I realized the ideas behind are pretty clever. Now I think there is no need to reinvent the wheel. If the calculation is documented well and the Workshop module has advanced reporting features that help to understand and explain why a student received the grade, the current algorithm should be kept.
Some non-trivial issues and questions emerged, however. The calculation is based on some basic statistical estimations. To be able to measure the quality of assessments, it is assumed that for a given student’s submission there is the only one theoretical objective assessment. Something like “if Zeus assessed the submission, he would give it 67/100″. Is this philosophically right? Is there the only truth about the work out there? And also – the grading in Workshop is determined by the grading form designed by the teacher. So even if Zeus is absolutely objective, his assessment is paltry if he has to use a crappy grading form.
It is clear the Workshop has a potential to be very mighty evaluation tool. In hands of a reckless teacher it becomes a dangerous weapon, however.
