Ungrading: "Most assessment mechanisms in higher education simply do not assess what we say we value most." - Jesse Stommel

Image source: https://medium.com/bits-and-behavior/grading-is-ineffective-harmful-and-unjust-lets-stop-doing-it-52d2ef8ffc47

'Ungrading' will undoubtedly come across as a controversial and possibly subversive concept to educators who have existed in education systems based on 'traditional' norms of assessment and determinants of academic progress (or success). I am glad that these norms are being challenged and I am hopeful that, like the power of water over seemingly impervious rock, these and other challenges to come will mould education systems to better recognise individualities and their potentialities for the betterment of themselves and the society they live in.

I came across these web articles by an American educator Jesse Stommel. I have put them together in a document here. Throughout this document, there are active hyperlinks you can click to access other sources of articles/books that he refers to.

Here is the 'contents' page to the document:

• P.1 Ungrading: An FAQ
• P.7 Why I Don't Grade
• P.12 What If We Don't Grade? A Bibliography

Reading the articles, these were some learning moments for me:

Ouroboros: The ouroboros or uroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. Originating in ancient Egyptian iconography, the ouroboros entered western tradition via Greek magical tradition and was adopted as a symbol in Gnosticism and Hermeticism and most notably in alchemy. [Wikipedia]

Contingent teaching: an approach to teaching where the direction of the session is determined by learners' responses so that the teacher adapts planning in the light of continuous monitoring of learners' situation and needs. I realise that I do a lot of this in my work as a facilitator in my freelance work and teaching at the polytechnic.

Precarious teaching: Precarious employment can include forms of temporary, part-time and contractual work, or jobs which do not provide a living wage as well as the state of being self-employed. So this is me as an Associate Lecturer at the polytechnic.

Stommel quoted a study showing that “teachers spend up to two thirds of their time talking to male students; they also are more likely to interrupt girls but allow boys to talk over them... When teachers ask questions, they direct their gaze towards boys more often, especially when the questions are open-ended.” It made me think if I have such biases, consciously or otherwise. I shall read more into this Soraya Chemaly...

Overall, the articles made for a fascinating read and I am encouraged to think about how to incorporate some of his ideas into how I assess my students. I am of course aware that I won't be able to completely emulate what Stommel has done - but certainly, things like negotiating with students on expectations and asking the right questions are ideas I can use.

You can find more of his writings on jessestommel.com.

Further reading

Grading is ineffective, harmful and unjust - let's stop doing it