Ungrading: An Update

As many of us are in the middle of our terms and “grades (assessment, measurement and evaluation)” may be a frequent topic of discussion, I would like to share a review of a recent book entitled, “Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning" (and What to do Instead), edited by Susan D. Blum.

Ungrading is an umbrella term for any assessment that decenters the action of an instructor assigning a summary grade to student work. While there are many ways to do ungrading, instructors generally provide students with formative rather than summative feedback, which may be combined with student self-evaluation or peer feedback. Lieder (2022) uses this approach when students are not graded on their assignments rather they determine what their final grade will be in consultation with their professor at the end of the semester. Regardless of the nuances of upgrading, it is clearly different from traditional “grades,” of which much research has demonstrated low correlation with engagement.

I will share the following ideas from the book review by Green, West and Delahunty:

1. Grades do not equal learning, they represent how well a student follows instructions (Blackwelder, 2020; Stommel, 2020). Conventional grading can be an obstacle to real learning (Katopodis & Davidson, 2020). Grades focus attention in the wrong direction, for learners and educators (Blum, 2020).

2. Grades are unfair. Notions that grades enable objective and scientific measurements of learning are refuted, “just because there is a number doesn’t mean it is objective” (Blum, 2020).

3. Harmful effects of grading. Grades perpetuate mechanistic and capitalistic processes, dehumanizing learners and educators (Blum 2020; Chu, 2020). Grading leads learners to view “success and failure as a reflection of themselves” (Blackwelder, 2020), making them less likely to take risks that result in deep learning. Grades “send the wrong message about what we value and stifle creativity and curiosity” (Sackstein, 2020). Grades act as bribes or threats. The grade “becomes a false currency that, over time, seems to override students’ intrinsic desire for mastery and personal sense of purpose” (Chiaravalli, 2020).

4. Encourages students to participate actively in their own learning, including creating an atmosphere where the value of critical self-evaluation can be modeled and guided (Schultz-Bergin, 2020). Encourages creativity through alternative assessment designs such as PBL or open-ended assignments (Gibbs 2020). Without the pressure of grading, students show greater willingness to be adventurous.

5. Challenges of ungrading include increased workload, limited resources, and skepticism.

6. How to begin ungrading can include “starting small, working together and being reflective.”

References

​Guberman, D. (2021). Student perceptions of an Ungraded Course. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 9(1).

Melzer, D., Quinn, D., Sperber, L. & Faye, S. (2019). So your teacher is using contract grading… UC Davis Writing Commons.

Bean, J. (2001). Engaging ideas : the professor's guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Arnaud, C. (2021). How an alternative grading system is improving student learning. Chemical and Engineering News, 99(15).

Warner, J. (2022). There's No Right Way to 'Ungrade'. Take it from an expert in failure. Chronicle of Higher Ed.

Santucci, A., Golas, J., Amaral, K. & Cox. (2022). Grading for learning at the U of Rhode Island [Conference]. New England Faculty Development Consortium, Boston, MA.