Rethinking Grading Practices

Grading not only measures student performance; it also shapes how students perceive themselves as learners. It communicates how well students have met learning objectives, shapes their academic identities, and influences their motivation. Historically, grading systems have focused heavily on compliance (e.g., punctuality, attendance) or relative performance (e.g., curving). Equitable grading shifts focus to whether students truly master the skills and knowledge intended by the course, while also promoting transparency, growth, and accountability in ways that serve all learners. Adapting our...

Although grading is ubiquitous in higher education, both long-standing evidence and continued investigations have revealed that the answer to these questions can be very different across courses and contexts. In recent years, multiple different grading frameworks have emerged with the goal of explicitly designing practices that reflect student learning. In particular, these approaches provide opportunities to give more constructive feedback to students, give the instructor and students reliable information about their learning, and focus on promoting students’ intrinsic motivation.