Behavioral Objectives for the Grading of Classroom Speeches

This study was undertaken to see if agreement existed among speech teachers as to the behavioral objectives necessary for an "A,""B," or "C" level grade on a classroom speech. In a questionnaire, 328 undergraduate speech instructors rated as A, B, or C a list of 14 behavioral objectives constructed by rewriting the speech grading standards employed at Pennsylvania State University according to criteria established by Robert Mager. Results indicated that the speech teachers tended to characterize B and A level speeches as successful if they achieved their avowed purpose of having some impact on the audience while C level speeches satisfied only minimum concrete and mechanical requirements. (A list of the 14 behavioral objectives and the responses to them are presented in table form.) (JM)