Teach Anywhere

Ungrading and Alternatives to Grades

Separating grades (values, numbers, percentages, levels, letters) from feedback (verbal or written comments, directions on where to improve, outlining strengths, suggestions for next steps) is the first step in ‘ungrading’ your course.

Ungrading meaning rethinking the way we are putting values on student learning and critically reflecting on what grades are doing to student learning – are they helping? are they fostering the right context and culture of growth and development?

Once you see this separation and understand how grades (putting a value on learning) doesn’t aid in the learning process, ungrading practices and pedagogies will become more clear.

Ungrading: Separating Grades from Feedback – PDF Handout
This handout provides ideas on how to separate grades from feedback and build more student reflection, metacognition and ongoing feedback into the student learning experience.

An Alternative Grading Glossary – Link

The following is a curated collection of readings, blogs, books, research articles and other writings that explore what ungrading means from various viewpoints and disciplines and how it can be applied in the post-secondary classroom (and still give a letter or number for student transcripts!)

 

Here are some instructors who have written a number of entries about their experiences with alternative and ungrading approaches to student evaluation.

Maha Bali

Maha is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Learning & Teaching at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. She is a full-time faculty developer and educator teaching digital literacies and intercultural learning.

  • Bali, M. et. al. (January 5, 2021) Alternative Approaches to Grading | Video
  • Bali, M. (March 23, 2019). Reflections on Ungrading for the Fourth Time | Blog post
  • Bali, M. (March 20, 2018). Ungrading My Class – Reflections on a Second Iteration | Chronicle of Higher Education Article

 

Susan Blum

Susan is a professor of anthropology at University of Notre Dame. She’s been teaching college students for over 30 years and for much of that time she was a conventional grader. Since around 2106 she has given up grading except for handing in grades at the end of term.

  • Blum. S. (December, 2020). Ed. Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to do Instead)?| Forward by Alfie Kohn | Book from West Virginia Press
  • Blum story within article by Supiano, B. ( July 19, 2019). Grades Can Hinder Learning. What Should Professors Use Instead? | Web Page
  • Blum, S. (November 14, 2017). Ungrading: The significant learning benefits of getting rid of grades. Inside Higher Ed. | Web Page
  • Blum, S. (December 20, 2016). Living and Learning with Risk: Against Rubrics and Grades. How “Ungrading” Allowed my Students to Try Some New Things | Blog post

 

Cate Denial

Cate Denial is the Bright Distinguished Professor of American History, Chair of the History department, and Director of the Bright Institute at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.

  • Denial, C. (November 9, 2020). Ungrading in a Pandemic | Blog Post
  • Denial, C. (December 11, 2019). More Thoughts About Grades | Blog Post
  • Denial, C. (October 16, 2017). Making the Grade | Blog Post

 

Laura Gibbs 

Laura is an instructor at the University of Oklahoma where she joined in 1999. She’s been teaching fully online courses since 2002. She teaches general education courses in the humanities.

  • Gibbs, L. (2020). Getting Rid of Grades | Book chapter in “Ungrading Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead)”  | Blog Post
  • Gibbs, L. (2016). (Un) Grading: It can be done in college | Guest post on Education Week Teacher | Blog Post
  • Gibbs, L. (2016). Teaching: Ungrading for More Feedback. Personal Blog Post found on site Anatomy of an Online Course | Blog Post

 

Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh

Since 2002, Clarissa has been a full-time chemistry instructor at Central New Mexico Community College. In her classes she uses ungrading, blogs and encourages open and engaged pedagogies. The story of all of her ungrading experiences are found on her main blog website at: https://clarissasorensenunruh.com/ungrading/

  • Sorensen-Unruh, C. (January 14, 2020). Ungrading: What is it and why should we use it | Blog post on ChemEd XChange
  • Sorensen-Unruh, C. (January 3, 2020). Ungrading: Prototype II (General Chemistry II) | Blog Post
  • Sorensen-Unruh, C. (Feburary 10, 2019). Ungrading: A Series (Part 1) | Blog Post

 

Jesse Stommel

Jesse Stommel has written some seminal blog posts on this topic over the past few years and has ungraded his English, digital humanities, film and communications courses for decades. He is co-founder of Digital Pedagogy Lab and Hybrid Pedagogy. Jesse has been an educator since 1999 and currently teaches at the University of Denver.

  • Stommel, J. (2023). Ungrading for Equity | Blog Post
  • Stommel, J. (2023). Undoing the Grade: Why We Grade, and How to Stop. Hybrid Pedagogy Inc., Denver, CO. Overview Post and Open Version
  • Stommel, J. (May 9, 2022). Ungrading and Alternative Assessment | YouTube video of Presentation
  • Stommel, J. (January 3, 2022). Compassionate Grading Policies | Blog Post
  • Stommel, J. (June 11, 2021). Ungrading: An Introduction | Blog Post
  • Stommel, J. (June 2, 2021). Grades are Dehumanizing: Ungrading is no Simple Solution | Blog Post
  • Stommel, J.  (March 3, 2020). What if We Didn’t Grade? A Bibliography.  | Blog Post
  • Stommel, J. (February 6, 2020). Ungrading: an FAQ.  | Blog Post
  • Stommel, J. (March 11, 2018). How to Ungrade | Blog Post
  • Stommel, J. (October 26, 2017). Why I Don’t Grade | Blog Post