Reflections on Ungrading and alternative ways to assess

 As part of #MyFest22, I have been following the ungrading series. One of the assignments was to reflect and write about ungrading. 

So let me start by saying that I probably will never be in a position to use a pure version of ungrading. For one thing, I've retired from teaching (I know there is always the chance I might be contacted to teach again, but I doubt it). For another thing, for the 30 years that I taught, I had to follow fairly rigorous structure I had to follow for grading. Grade distributions were sometimes posted within the dept. and as a non-permanent contingent faculty member, our contract was dependent on the norms of grading laid out by our university. By the time I retired, grades had become a currency. We were often told that too many A's meant that we were not "rigorous" enough. The fact that many of my students used the skills I taught in lower level classes and that most faculty didn't want to teach courses students didn't want to take (thus receiving lower evaluations) meant there was always one of these courses available to me. 

What to do then? I discovered pretty early on that students gamed the system for good grades while not really learning what they needed to for the future. I also didn't want a student in my class who really didn't want to be there, so I had to create a course they wanted to be there for. I decided I could game the game of grades. 

• Attendance and Class Participation: I tried to give people an incentive once where they would get a bonus if they didn't miss class. This backfired because students came to class for the points and really interrupted other students learning. Also, students came in sick and it disadvantaged those with medical reasons. Instead, I designed class to give students what they couldn't get on their own. I often used groups, but also used some individual in-class practices that students would hand in at the end of class. They did not need to be completed. I would review these so I could determine where students were getting stuck and what their thoughts were. Usually they were in class worksheets. Students would get a C or NC for that class, which converted into class participation grades. The only time students would get an NC were doing work for other classes throughout the class time. They soon learned that if they wanted to study for another class, just do it in the library. I had not maximum or minimum absences, but I took the first 10 C's to grade. So students could decide if it was worth it to come to class or not.
• Peer review, self assessment, and instructor feedback: I let my students know that I was not the only one to determine grades, although I had the final say due to what university laid out. My policy was that students were not allowed to discuss specific grades in class because then I would always have the final say. If they had a problem with their grade, they were encouraged to speak to me during office hours or alone before or after the class (before Zoom, on Zoom during the pandemic). I let them know that I was human and therefore, sometimes when I graded, I may have missed something that demonstrated they understood the concepts they needed to know in class. But they should bring and be prepared to prove their request for a higher grade. Also, while I was very open to hearing their case, I still might not change it, but they would know why. To help me with grading fairly, I also used peer review and the student's own reflections to ensure I did not miss something or was focused on one aspect of the grading while missing something important that demonstrated they understood...just in a different way.
• I always hated grades: How do you grade the same assignment when one person in really reaching and taking risks results in a mistake while another person only regurgitates what is in the book as they have been taught to do. I KNEW which one learned more, while the one who did not was only doing what they had been taught to do to success in school. So I tried to design assignments that encouraged taking risks and making mistakes, while supporting those that were scared to do so by making projects and assignments accumulative. No one part carried too much weight and as an assignment progressed there were changes to revise and make it better. 

In a way, I think I was able to incorporate many of the elements of ungrading into a rigid university grading structure. My students often told me that they learned more in my class than many others. I kept track of many of my students on LinkedIn and I see how they use the skills learned in my class to this day. More importantly, they continue to learn.