92 - Researching Grading Reform: Building the Evidence to Change the System

In this episode, Sharona and Boz dive into what research around grading reform might look like. From the types of studies to the areas of interest and some options for focus. We look at what's been done, what's missing, and how the Center for Grading Reform is planning to launch a new initiative to build a national network of researchers focused on grading system.

Links

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• The Compentency Based Assessment Symposium, Smith Engineering, Queen's University
• Chicago Math Symposium
• Anastasia: The Musical - Encore South Bay
• 72 – Off the Mark – an Interview with author Dr. Jack Schneider
• College Bridge
• NCTE - Disrupting the Alternative Grading Narrative: Recognizing the Contributions of Two-Year College Teacher-Scholars
• Grading With Integrity: A Research-Based Approach Grounded in Honesty, Transparency, Accuracy, and Equity, by Thomas Guskey
• On Your Mark: Challenging the Conventions of Grading and Reporting (A book for K-12 assessment policies and practices) (Essentials for Principals)
• Instructional Feedback: The Power, the Promise, the Practice 1st Edition, by Dr. Thomas Guskey
• Grading for Equity, 2nd Edition, by Joe Feldman
• Off the Mark: How Grades, Ratings, and Rankings Undermine Learning (but Don’t Have To), by Schneider and Hutt
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilson
• Punished by Rewards: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes, by Alfie Kohn
• Labor-Based Grading Contracts: Building Equity and Inclusion in the Compassionate Classroom (The Perspectives on Writing), by Asao Inoue
• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Student perceptions of Alternative Grading Strategies in the Biology Classroom, Jacob Adler
• Alternative Grading Systems and Student Outcomes: A comparative analysis of motivation, enjoyment, engagement, stress, and perceptions of final grades, by Melanie Butler
• Setting the Stage for a New Path Forward: Introducing an Alternative Grading Framework to Students, NCTE
• Proficiency-based grading: a potential solution learning without stressful exams, Terence Favero
• Reading Science: A Mixed-methods study of alternative grading with a molecular biology journal club, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education
• Project EMBER
• Harvard University - The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

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Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.