Communicating Alternative Grading Schemes: How to Shift Students' Attention to Their Learning from Grades

Abstract

Mounting evidence shows that distribution enforcing grading schemes that rank students undermine learning. Alternative assessment schemes such as specifications grading, ungrading, and competency-based grading center learning and create a more equitable learning environment. However, to implement such a shift in a course requires a bigger lift from instructors. Students enter our courses expecting certain things; the long-term benefits of more equitable, learning-centered grading schemes can be clouded by the initial anxiety about encountering something new. In this BoF, we will create a space for instructors to discuss their fears, challenges, and solutions in adopting assessment practices and strategies, from the assignment level to the course level, that aligns with learning and equity. In particular, we will focus on discussing how to communicate the need for and benefits of said practices to students, and how these practices can help shift students' attention away from their grades and toward their learning.