Book: Grading
Grading for Growth: A Guide to Alternative Grading Practices That Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education
David Clark and Robert Talbert
Adriana’s
Recommendation
This book not only defines alternative grading approaches and provides examples of them, it also unpacks the complicated history and philosophical problems with grading. In particular, "the four pillars of alternative grading" articulate key values and goals for any grading scheme.
The entire culture built around grades and grading is toxic. The quest for a 4.0, the email requests to “bump up” one’s grade, the arguments over points awarded: None of these are actually about learning. But because grades seem to be inextricable from school, there appears to be no other way than the traditions we have.
But what if there was a way?
What if there was a way to think about grades built on growth over game-playing, learning over letters and numbers, and productive relationships over adversarial ones? What if we could address, if not entirely repair, so many of these problems, through a quiet revolution in the everyday task of grading?
We believe that this way exists, and that’s why we are writing this book. We believe that a fundamentally better approach to grading is possible, and that any higher education faculty can help make it a reality.