Ungrading: What, Why, and How

Grading practices and techniques range from strict policies, to contract-based grading, to assigning no grades at all. Wherever they find themselves on the continuum, in this episode, we hear Georgetown faculty wrestle with the nuances and complexities of assigning grades, and thoughts about their impact. Featured in this Episode: Karen Shaup, English; Miléna Santoro, French and Francophone Studies; Patrick Johnson, Physics; Erika Seamon, American Studies Georgetown Resources Grading Student Work (CNDLS) and Alternative Modes of Grading (CNDLS) Rethinking Assessment and Grading from Teaching, Learning, & Innovation Summer Institute (TLISI) Additional Research Blum, S. D., Kohn, A., & Saffel, T. (2020). Ungrading : Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to do Instead) (S. D. Blum, Ed.; First edition). West Virginia University Press. Heissel, et al (2021). Testing, Stress, and Performance: How Students Respond Physiologically to High-Stakes Testing. Education Finance and Policy; 16 (2): 183–208. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00306 Chamberlin, K., et al (2018). The impact of grades on student motivation. Active Learning in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787418819728 Amabile, T. M. (2018). Creativity and the Labor of Love. In The Nature of Human Creativity (pp. 1–15). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108185936.003 Morris, S. (2021). When We Talk about Grades, We Are Talking about People. Rapchak, M., Hands, A.S. & Hensley, M.K. (2022). “Moving Toward Equity: Experiences With Ungrading.” Journal of Education for Library and Information Science. https://doi.org/10.3138/jelis-2021-0062. Stommel, J. (2017, October 26). Why I don’t grade. Stommel, J. (2021, June 2). Grades are dehumanizing; ungrading is now simple solution