If you’re read more than a handful of posts here, you have no doubt heard about the The Four Pillars of Alternative Grading. It’s a framework that most of these articles, not to mention the Grading For Growth book, are structured around and a constant presence in our content.

But recently, David and I realized that despite this, we had never written an article specifically devoted to this idea. We first proposed The Four Pillars in this article where it is presented as a “beta version” along with a cheesy visual that I made. The visual, somehow, remains stuck at its initial level of cheesiness. But our understanding of the model, and its importance to how we and other faculty think about and use alternative grading, has grown over time. Today, it feels more like a mature conceptual framework than a “beta”.

Today’s article is intended to be an all-inclusive guide to David’s and my current understanding of this model and how it’s applied to practical teaching situations.

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the "System Myth", that before any meaningful work can be done with alternative grading, we must have large-scale systemic changes to the system of education in which it takes place. One of the reasons this is a myth is that it is possible to take small steps, which involve little to no additional effort to implement, toward reforming and improving the way we grade in higher education. It's not only possible to do this, faculty are doing this on a daily basis in all kinds of professional situations where a full-scale system-changing approach might not be feasible or possible. Those small, incremental steps can lead to real improvements in students' learning experiences.

In a recent poll on Twitter, I asked people who are using alternative grading how they got started: Was it with a complete redesign of an existing system or by making one or more small, incremental changes to a traditional approach? Most said the latter.

In am earlier post, I suggested a framework for starting small: Pick one of the Four Pillars, and do one thing related to it. In the spirit of this blog and our book, which is to give not only big ideas but concrete and sensible blueprints for action, I came up with 20 different ways you might use this framework to implement small changes. Not all of these will make sense for your situation. But maybe some will spark an idea.

Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley are classroom educators dedicated to changing the way we grade students in the classroom. We believe that grading can either be a tool used to not only measure learning but also encourage it, or it can be an overpowering force for destruction in the classroom. In this podcast, we will delve deeply into the many facets and nuances of grading in both the K-12 and Higher Ed classroom. Ranging across disciplines and institutional formats, we will bring to life the impact of grading on students and practical, detailed, research-driven practices that can change grading from a destructive force to one that enhances student success and learning.

In each episode, we will dive deep into the topic of grading and its impact on student motivation, engagement, and overall success. We will discuss the latest research and best practices in alternative grading systems, including formative assessments, standards-based grading, and student-centered grading.

Our guests will share their experiences and insights into the challenges and successes of implementing alternative grading systems in their classrooms. From identifying gaps in student understanding to providing targeted feedback, our podcast will provide a space for educators to explore and discuss new ways to assess student learning.

Whether you are a teacher, administrator, or education policy-maker, this podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in improving student learning outcomes and creating a more equitable and inclusive education system.

Are you satisfied with your current and traditional grading system? Does it accurately reflect your students’ learning and progress? Can it be gamed? Does it lead to grade-grubbing and friction with your students? The authors of this book – two professors of mathematics with input from colleagues across disciplines and institutions – offer readers a fundamentally more effective and authentic approach to grading that they have implemented for over a decade.

Recognizing that traditional grading penalizes students in the learning process by depriving them of the formative feedback that is fundamental to improvement, the authors offer alternative strategies that encourage revision and growth. Alternative grading is concerned with students’ eventual level of understanding. This leads to big changes: Students take time to review past failures and learn from them. Conversations shift from “why did I lose a point for this” to productive discussions of content and process. Alternative grading can be used successfully at any level, in any situation, and any discipline, in classes that range from seminars to large multi-section lectures.

This second edition of the alternative grading classic revisits specs grading with a robust body of research, exemplars, and strategies to elevate the quality of student work, increase engagement and buy-in, reduce faculty stress, and cultivate students' career competencies.

Nilson and Packowski present the unique characteristics of the specs grading schema, all of which simplify faculty decision making, reduce antagonism between the evaluator and the evaluated, and increase student receptivity to meaningful feedback, thus facilitating a mutually beneficial, rigorous learning process. Used consistently over time, specs grading can restore credibility to grades by demonstrating and making transparent to all stakeholders the learning outcomes that students achieve.

This book features five new chapters stemming from firsthand accounts of dozens of instructors actively using specs grading and new material in six of the remaining eight chapters. It lays out the surprisingly simple transition process, positioning specs grading as the most viable and easy-to-use system available to faculty.