RESOURCES FOR ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES

(ungrading, specs grading, etc. + some general pedagogy resources)

Artze-Vega, Isis, Flower Darby, Bryan Dewsbury, and Mays Imad, The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching. New York/London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2023.

Barnes, Mark D. Assessment 3.0: Throw Out Your Grade Book and Inspire Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2015. https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/book/assessment-30.

Blum, Susan D. “The Significant Learning Benefits of Getting Rid of Grades.” Inside Higher Ed, November 14, 2017. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2017/11/14/significant-learning-benefits-getting-rid-grades-essay.

Blum, Susan. Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning. Ithaca/London: Cornell University Press, 2024/

Blum, Susan D., ed. UNgrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What To Do Instead). Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2020. https://wvupressonline.com/node/844.

Buck, David. “Alternative Grading Practices.” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PzQ05JAyFquUNJSigV7xKcNOUMCDb8E1LUfg2xl75c8/edit#.

Butler, R. “Enhancing and Undermining Extrinsic Motivation: The Effects of Task-Involving and Ego-Involving Evaluation of Interest and Performance. British Journal of Educational Psychology vol 58, no. 1 (February 1988): 1-14. https://doi-org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1988.tb00874.x.

Clark, David and Robert Talbert. Grading for Growth: A Guide to Alternative Grading Practices That Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education. New York/London: Routledge, 2023.

Davidson, Cathy. “Getting Started 6: Contract Grading and Peer Review.” hastac, August 16, 2015. https://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/2015/08/16/getting-started-6-contract-grading-and-peer-review.  

Davidson, Cathy. “How to Crowdsource Grading.” hastac, July 26, 2009. https://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/2009/07/26/how-crowdsource-grading.  

Davidson, Cathay and Christina Katapodis. The New College Classroom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2022.

Denial, Catherine. “Making the Grade.” October 16, 2017. https://catherinedenial.org/blog/uncategorized/making-the-grade/.

Denial, Catherine. “A Pedagogy of Kindness.” Hybrid Pedagogy, August 15, 2019. https://hybridpedagogy.org/pedagogy-of-kindness/.

Denial, Catherine. A Pedagogy of Kindness. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2024.

Donohoe, Emily Pitts. Unmaking the Grade substack. https://emilypittsdonahoe.substack.com/.

Donovan, Sarah J. “Imagining a No-Grades Classroom.” Ethical ELA, October 10, 2019. http://www.ethicalela.com/nogrades/.

Elbow, Peter. “High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing.” New Directions for Teaching & Learning 69 (spring 1997): 5-13. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.6901.

Elbow, Peter and Jane Denielewicz. “A Unilateral Grading Contract to Improve Learning and Teaching.” ScholarWorks @ UMass Amherst, January 2008. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=eng_faculty_pubs.

Eyler, Joshua. Failing our Future: How Grades Harm Students, and What We Can Do About It. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024.

Eyler, Joshua. How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching. Morgantown: West Virginia Press, 2018.

Feldman, Joe. Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2019. https://gradingforequity.org/.

Flaherty, Colleen. “When Grading Less Is More.” Inside Higher Ed, April 2, 2019. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/04/02/professors-reflections-their-experiences-ungrading-spark-renewed-interest-student/.

Gannon, Kevin M. “How to Escape Grading Jail.” Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-escape-grading-jail/.

Gannon, Kevin M. Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2020.

Gibbs, Laura. “(Un)Grading: It Can Be Done in College.” EducationWeek, guest post by Laura Gibbs published under Starr Sackstein’s byline, March 31, 2016. https://www.edweek.org/education/opinion-ungrading-it-can-be-done-in-college/2016/03?cmp=SOC-SHR-FB.

Hall, Macie. “What Is Specifications Grading and Why Should You Consider Using It?” The Innovative Insructor Blog, April 11, 2018. https://ii.library.jhu.edu/2018/04/11/what-is-specifications-grading-and-why-should-you-consider-using-it/.

hastac: Changing the Way We Teach + Learn. https://www.hastac.org/.

Hogan, Kelly A. and Viji Sathy. Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2022.

Hybrid Pedagogy. https://hybridpedagogy.org/.

Inoue, Asao B. “A Grade-Less Writing Course That Focuses on Labor and Assessing.” In First-Year Composition: From Theory to Practice, edited by D. Teague & R. Lunsford, 71-110. Parlor Press, 2014.

Inoue, Asao B. Labor-Based Grading Contracts: Building Equity and Inclusion in the Compassionate Writing Classroom. Fort Collins, CO: The WAC Clearinghouse / Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2019.

Keisman, Phil. “Building Intrinsic Motivation Through a Contract Grading System.” Borough of Manhattan Community College Writing Across the Curriculum Newsletter, Fall 2021. https://bmccprodstroac.blob.core.windows.net/uploads/2021/12/BMCC-WAC-Fall-2021-Newsletter.pdf.

Keisman, Phil. “Covid-19 Forced Me to Embrace Asynchronous Learning. Might This Be a Boon for Part-time Students?” Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, June 10, 2020. https://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/2020/06/covid-19-forced-me-to-embrace-asynchronous-learning-might-this-be-a-boon-for-part-time-students/.

Kohn, Alfie. “The Case Against Grades.” Educational Leadership, November 2011. https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/case-grades/.

Kohn, Alfie. “Five Reasons to Stop Staying ‘Good Job!’” Young Children, September 2001. https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/five-reasons-stop-saying-good-job/.

Kohn, Alfie. “From Degrading to De-Grading.” High School Magazine, March 1999. https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/degrading-de-grading/.

Kohn, Alfie. Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2018. https://www.alfiekohn.org/punished-rewards/.

Kohn, Alfie. “The Trouble with Rubrics.” English Journal vol 95, no. 4 (March 2006). https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/trouble-rubrics/.

Kohn, Alfie. “Why Feedback Often Doesn’t Help.” Education Week, September 21, 2022. https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/feedback/.

Lamb-Sinclair, Ashley. “Why Grades Are Not Paramount to Achievement.” The Atlantic, June 16, 2017. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/06/why-grades-are-not-the-key-to-achievement/530124/.

Louden, Kristy. “Delaying the Grade: How to Get Students to Read Feedback.” Cult of Pedagogy, June 4, 2017. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/delayed-grade/.

Nilson, Linda B. Creating Self-Regulating Learners: Strategies to Strengthen Students’ Self-Awareness and Learning Skills. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2013. https://styluspub.presswarehouse.com/browse/book/9781579228675/Creating-Self-Regulated-Learners.

Nilson, Linda B. Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing 2015. https://styluspub.presswarehouse.com/browse/book/9781620362426/Specifications-Grading.

Nilson, Linda B. “Yes, Virginia, There’s a Better Way to Grade.” Inside Higher Ed, January 19, 2016. https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2016/01/19/new-ways-grade-more-effectively-essay.

Sackstein, Starr. Hacking Assessment: 10 Ways to Go Gradeless in a Traditional Grades School. Second edition. Highland Heights, OH: Times 10 Publications, 2022. https://www.10publications.com/hacking-assessment-second-edition.

Shah, Rita. “I Hate Grading. So I Stopped. (Sort of.). Teaching Blog, August 29, 2022. https://sites.google.com/emich.edu/fdcteachingblog/teaching-blog/fall-2022/i-hate-grading-so-i-stopped-sort-of-by-rita-shah.  

Stommel, Jesse. “How to Ungrade.” March 11, 2018. https://www.jessestommel.com/how-to-ungrade/.

Stommel, Jesse. “Why I Don’t Grade.” October 26, 2017. https://www.jessestommel.com/why-i-dont-grade/.

Stommel, Jesse. “Ungrading: an FAQ.” February 6, 2020. https://www.jessestommel.com/ungrading-an-faq/.

Supiano, Beckie. “Grades Can Hinger Learning. What Should Professors Use Instead?” Chronicle of Higher Education, July 19, 2019. https://www.chronicle.com/article/grades-can-hinder-learning-what-should-professors-use-instead/.

Tomlin, Antione D. and Christine M. Nowik. Effective Alternative Assessment Practices in Higher Education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2024.

University of Oklahoma Press series “Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed,” edited by James M. Lang and Michelle D. Miller. https://www.oupress.com/teaching-engaging-and-thriving-in-higher-ed-series/ (series was previously at West Virginia University Press).

West Virginia University Press series “Teaching and Learning in Higher Education,” edited by James M. Lang and Michelle D. Miller. https://wvupressonline.com/series/teaching_learning_higher_education?page=1 (series is now at University of Oklahoma Press).