Ungrading

Contributors to this special issue focus on alternative assessment practices that minimize or eliminate the use of traditional grades, such as the A–F scale. Falling under the larger umbrella of “ungrading,” these alternative methods—such as labor-based contract grading, engagement-based grading, and specifications grading—foreground levels of labor and engagement, meaningful feedback from instructors and peers, and self-reflective forms of assessment. Arguing that the time is ripe to consider forms of ungrading, many of which were adopted as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors celebrate ungrading, raise important questions about this assessment approach, analyze its value for instructors and students of color, and suggest further avenues for research.

Contributors: Megan K. Von Bergen, Aaron Bruenger, Ellen C. Carillo, Esther M. Gabay, Catherine Gabor, Kara K. Larson, Bronson Lemer, Jessica Nastal, Katherine Daily O'Meara, Cheryl Hogue Smith, Jesse Stommel, Molly E. Ubbesen, Griffin Xander Zimmerman