Alternative Grading Systems Show Promise

Educators are considering alternative approaches to grading more often since COVID-19, according to researchers from Harvard University’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning—ones that diverge from traditional models that emphasize letter grades, high-stakes assignments, and top-down assessment.

The researchers say that traditional grading systems tend to:

• Exacerbate stress and mental health challenges among students;
• Decrease students’ intrinsic motivation;
• Decrease students’ ability to learn from feedback, instead encouraging focus on a letter or numerical grade; and
• Perpetuate inequities among students.

Alternative approaches to grading typically:

• Offer clear learning objectives that align with how assignments are graded;
• Provide transparent expectations for success;
• Offer students regular, actionable feedback on their work;
• Emphasize progress by providing students with multiple opportunities to meet expectations; and
• Provide students with agency over their own work and learning goals.

Popular alternative grading strategies include:

• Specifications grading. Grades are based on the combination and number of assignments students complete satisfactorily. “Bundles” of assignments map to different letter grades, and students can choose which bundles they wish to complete.
• Contract grading. Grading criteria are determined by an agreement between the instructor and student at the beginning of the term. Grades emphasize the learning process over the product and might reward the completion of activities as well as behaviors.
• Mastery grading. Grades are based on the degree to which students have met course learning objectives. Students are allowed multiple attempts to show mastery and might be able to revise submissions or submit new work.
• “Ungrading.” Students are responsible for reflecting upon and assessing their own learning, with instructors providing regular feedback and guidance on work. At the end of a term, students assign themselves an overall grade, and the instructor decides whether an increase or decrease is warranted.

“We believe that contemplating alternative approaches in tandem with more conventional practices inevitably raises valuable questions not only about the particulars of how we are assessing our students’ learning, but also about why we are asking students to perform in the ways that we are,” the study concludes.