Description

We're heading into the holiday break, so over the next few weeks we'll be replaying some previous episodes while adding some thoughts as we conclude the Fall semester of 2023. So enjoy your holiday break!

In this episode, we describe the four decisions that make up the "Grading Architecture" of an alternatively graded course.

• How will you assess your learning targets?
• What type of proficiency scale(s) will you use?
• How will students show proficiency for a specific learning target? (I.e. how much evidence and of what kind to they need to provide)
• How will you wrap up into a final grade?

After introducing the four decisions, we explore some examples of common options used for each of the decisions. This includes:

• What types of evidence of learning will you accept?
• Exploring three common types of proficiency scales - 2 level, 3 level and 4 level scales
• Describing different methods for determining proficiency on a specific target (the Guskey method, N times, and decaying average)
• Evaluating options for rolling up grades, including the simple count method, the bucket method, and the "good to great" method with multiple levels of proficiency.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Implementing Mastery Learning, by Thomas Guskey

Resources

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading (Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!):

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen