Grading

Emerson College uses a web-based platform, CALIPSO to track clinical clock hours as well as to evaluate student clinician clinical growth.  Supervisors are expected to complete both a midterm and final evaluation for each student in a placement. Below is information on how to complete the CALIPSO evaluations.  

GRADING PROCESS

• The midterm and final must be completed by the supervisor(s) on CALIPSO, but a blank version of the Performance Evaluation (midterm/final) can be found here.

• The midterm is due at the midpoint of the semester, preferably completed before your scheduled site visit with the program. 

• The midterm and final is a 5-point rating scale of various areas of clinical growth where 5 is consistent demonstration of clinical application and a 1 is not evident and the student is not demonstrating clinical skills, has limited awareness, and is not using feedback to make changes in clinical practice.  Supervisors are instructed to complete the midterm at the midpoint of the semester (and final by the last day of placement as determined by the program) in .25 increments (e.g. 3.75, 4.5, 4.25, 3.0 etc.).

• Please leave a any domains not assessed/applicable blank.  Any areas left blank will not count against the student's grade.

• CALIPSO will automatically calculate the scores you have entered and produce a familiar letter grade at the bottom of the page (e.g. A, A-, B+).  

• Any grade below a B- (e.g. C+ and below) is considered failing at the graduate level.  If a student has a failing grade at midterm or final, please contact placement_ops@emerson.edu so our team can support you and the student as needed

• Ultimately, the final grade IS the final grade for the student.  It is not averaged with the midterm.

GRADING FAQs

• How do I rate the student on his/her/their clinical performance?

  • CALIPSO has provided a rating scale for your review. It is a 5-point rating scale where 5 is consistent demonstration of clinical application and a 1 is not evident and the student is not demonstrating clinical skills, has limited awareness, and is not using feedback to make changes in clinical practice. 

  • Supervisors should try to capture the skills the student is demonstrating in the context of the kind of support and responsibility they have been given. Grading is not just on the student demonstrating independence.

  • It is unlikely that a student would earn a rating of 5 (consistent) across every area on the evaluation form. All students will continue to learn as they move through their clinical placements. 

  • With the exception of a student at the end of their final practicum, supervisors should not look at students as if they are “CF-ready” or not. Supervisors should consider their student’s skills and development over the course of the semester, including the following:

    • Has the student increased their independence in completing tasks or providing services?

    • Is the student demonstrating an understanding of the skills and concepts that were presented and used at the site?

    • Has the student responded to feedback and made changes?

    • Has the student made progress toward the goals that were set when beginning the placement or at midterm?

• How do I use the rating scale for a student in their first clinical practicum experience?

  • Our expectation is that the supervisor will approach grading based on the semester performance, on the skills they demonstrated with you and with your clientele, and to keep in mind that the student will participate in 3 subsequent community practicum experiences prior to graduation. The student does not have to be “CF-ready.”

• How do I use the rating scale for a student in their final clinical practicum experience? 

• Supervisors should have some expectation that the student be ready to move on to his/her clinical fellowship after this final practicum experience. However, the expectation should not be that the students are completely independent.  As a reminder, the Anderson Model of Supervision does not assume full independence even in their final semester as Clinical Fellows will continue to get some degree of supervision as they work through their CF experience. 

• What do I select when a student hasn’t had any exposure in a given disorder area during his/her time in placement this semester?

  • We recognize that students will not have exposure and clinical practice across every disorder area, age group, etc. each semester. As such, if there has not been any experience in a given area, simply DO NOT provide a number from the rating scale in that portion of the evaluation. This blank does not impact the overall score of the evaluation or the final grade. 

    • For example, if the student does not have any fluency clients in a given semester, the student should not receive 1s on the evaluations.  Any sections rating the student’s work with fluency should be left blank.

    • For example, if a student only participated in intervention/treatment in a given semester and did not have the opportunity to conduct evaluations, then leave that section blank--do not fill out.  

• What if the student has more than one supervisor?

• If the student was supervised by more than one supervisor, the supervisor(s) can collaborate on one final evaluation or complete two separate evaluations.  We leave this decision up to you. If two evaluations are completed, our team will weigh (depending on the number of hours completed with each supervisor) and average the grades for the final grade. Decisions of whether to one or two separate evaluations will vary depending on a number of factors, including:

  • One supervisor only supervised the student while conducting evaluations on a team and the other supervisor only supervised the student while conducting treatment. 

  • Each supervisor supervised the student with vastly different caseloads with different skills, expectations, and responsibilities.

  • If you feel you can comfortably merge your opinions on the evaluation, please do so. If you cannot due to differing rankings based on caseload/skills demonstrated, or due to individual schedules, please fill out separate evaluations