Grading Equitably: Rethinking Grading, from Contract Grading to Ungrading, Specs Grading, and More

While very few teachers actually enjoy grading, until recently our acknowledgment of its difficulties has been limited to, say, differentiating between a B and a B+, or perhaps to debating institutional problems such as grade inflation. But increasingly, educational research is asking us to radically rethink why and how we grade. How can our grading practices be more inclusive of all learners, and more transparent to students? What does it mean for our grading to be “fair”? Will students even bother doing the work if we don’t use traditional grading methods? What other approaches — hybrid grading contracts, labor-based grading contracts, ungrading, specifications grading — have scholars from Elbow to Inoue proposed to try to ease the burden of grading on faculty, change the power dynamics of the classroom, and increase equity for students? Come read and explore with us this semester!

Session 1 (Feb. 12, 2021)–Starting Questions: Why do we grade? What does grading tell us?

• Schinske and Tanner, “Teaching More by Grading Less (Or Differently)” (2014)
• Savini, “10 Ways to Tackle Linguistic Bias in Our Classrooms” (2021)

Session 2 (Feb. 19, 2021)–Grading Better: Introduction to contract grading

• Elbow and Danielewicz, “A Unilateral Grading Contract to Improve Learning and Teaching,” (2008)
• Inoue, Labor-Based Grading Contracts, (2019) [excerpts only: the first half of the introduction (pp. 3-13); all or part of Ch. 2, including his critique of hybrid contracts (key section: pp. 59-63); all or part of Ch. 4 (key section: pp. 130-142); and Appendix A.]
• Supplemental resources [discussed in the session]:
  • Rice University’s student workload calculator for estimating labor hours
  • Inoue’s CCCC chair’s address
  • Discussion of “the grammar debate” in L2 (Dana Ferris, etc.)
  • An abolitionist rationale for rejecting grading: “Abolition Means Removing Policing From Our Teaching and Thinking” (Collins, 2021)

  Session 3 (Feb. 26, 2021)–Contract Grading, in the Writing Program and Beyond

  • Inman and Powell, “In the Absence of Grades: Dissonance and Desire in Course-Contract Classrooms” (2014; BU-only link)
  • Sample syllabi, grading contracts, and compassion clauses [distributed to attendees]
  • Supplemental resources [discussed in the session]:
    • Discussion of trauma-informed pedagogy and ungrading
    • Matt Groening cartoon about grad school

    Session 4 (Mar. 8, 2021–NOTE CHANGE TO A MONDAY FOR THIS FINAL SESSION)–Looking Farther Afield: Specs Grading and Ungrading

    • Blum, “Introduction: Why Ungrade? Why Grade” and Ch. 2, “Just One Change (Just Kidding): Ungrading and its Necessary Accompaniments” (2020) [excerpts distributed to attendees.]
    • Nilson, “Yes, Virginia, There’s a Better Way to Grade” (2016)
    • Talbert, “Specifications Grading: We May Have a Winner,” (2017)
    • Optional additional materials to skim through:
      • Single-point rubrics
      • Rubric overview
      • EMFR rubrics
      • Ungrading Slow Chat
      • Jesse Stommel course information/samples
      • Laura Gibbs Ungrading philosophy, samples, and student reflections
      • Asao B. Inoue on specs grading
      • Talbert’s “What I Learned in Fall 2020” simplification of specs grading

      Also see our research/theory review on Equity in Writing Assessment, which also gives some samples for implementing alternative grading practices in your Writing Program courses.

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      Research & Professional Development

      • Faculty Seminars
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        • Cultivating Counterstories in the WR Classroom
        • Partnering with Students with Disabilities
        • Creative Nonfiction
        • Linguistic Justice
        • Creativity & Innovation in the Writing Classroom
        • Grading Equitably: Rethinking Grading, from Contract Grading to Ungrading, Specs Grading, and More
        • Exploring Place-Based Pedagogy

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