A lot of this rings true to me. How can we get beyond transactional relationships to learning in higher ed? Ungrading is one way I'm still experimenting with. Tiny glimpses of intrinsic motivation are a joy. But how can we gauge trust when students learn to reflect back what we want to hear?
Opinion | A Crisis of Trust in the Classroom
The work of teaching has never been harder, Seth C. Bruggeman writes. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4j8rn81
The work of teaching has never been harder, Seth C. Bruggeman writes. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4j8rn81
January 18, 2025 at 6:01 PM
If a student can’t redo an assessment, is it really about learning?
Let’s stop pretending “real life doesn’t allow retakes.”
Most of adult life IS retakes.
#AlternativeGrading #EduSky
Let’s stop pretending “real life doesn’t allow retakes.”
Most of adult life IS retakes.
#AlternativeGrading #EduSky
June 24, 2025 at 5:19 PM
If a student can’t redo an assessment, is it really about learning?
Let’s stop pretending “real life doesn’t allow retakes.”
Most of adult life IS retakes.
#AlternativeGrading #EduSky
Let’s stop pretending “real life doesn’t allow retakes.”
Most of adult life IS retakes.
#AlternativeGrading #EduSky
Tomorrow! Stoked to be attending the Grading Conference & even more stoked to be chairing a panel of students from our Spring 2026 seminar "Problems with Grades" (link to syllabus in comments). #GradingCon26 #AlternativeGrading #StudentVoices
www.centerforgradingreform.org/grading-conf...
www.centerforgradingreform.org/grading-conf...
The Grading Conference
www.centerforgradingreform.org
June 15, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Tomorrow! Stoked to be attending the Grading Conference & even more stoked to be chairing a panel of students from our Spring 2026 seminar "Problems with Grades" (link to syllabus in comments). #GradingCon26 #AlternativeGrading #StudentVoices
www.centerforgradingreform.org/grading-conf...
www.centerforgradingreform.org/grading-conf...
My students now ask:
“Can I try that again?” “Can you tell me what I missed?”
Not: “How many marks is this worth?”
That shift is everything.
#AlternativeGrading #SecondarySTEM #EduSky
“Can I try that again?” “Can you tell me what I missed?”
Not: “How many marks is this worth?”
That shift is everything.
#AlternativeGrading #SecondarySTEM #EduSky
June 27, 2025 at 3:29 PM
My students now ask:
“Can I try that again?” “Can you tell me what I missed?”
Not: “How many marks is this worth?”
That shift is everything.
#AlternativeGrading #SecondarySTEM #EduSky
“Can I try that again?” “Can you tell me what I missed?”
Not: “How many marks is this worth?”
That shift is everything.
#AlternativeGrading #SecondarySTEM #EduSky
#AlternativeGrading
Anyone out there have a good example of either 1) a blanket 24-hour extension policy and/or 2) a tokens-based late policy that you'll let me share in a syllabus workshop?
I've got my best-by dates with late work form, but I want to show other options cause my shenanigans don't work for all.
I've got my best-by dates with late work form, but I want to show other options cause my shenanigans don't work for all.
August 8, 2023 at 5:25 PM
#AlternativeGrading
This is a rationale for holistic assessment, in which students reflect on products, processes, and learning/growth/change as interrelated and equally important. In the face of AI, the historical emphasis on product-based outcomes becomes less and less relevant.
#AlternativeGrading #Ungrading
#AlternativeGrading #Ungrading
This is what's so baffling about so many suggestions for AI in the humanities classroom: they mistake the product for the point. Writing outlines and essays is important not because you need to make outlines and essays but because that's how you learn to think with/through complex ideas.
I'm sure many have said this before but I'm reading a student-facing document about how students might use AI in the classroom (if allowed) and one of the recs is: use AI to make an outline of your reading! But ISN'T MAKING THE OUTLINE how one actually learns?
December 12, 2024 at 5:51 PM
This is a rationale for holistic assessment, in which students reflect on products, processes, and learning/growth/change as interrelated and equally important. In the face of AI, the historical emphasis on product-based outcomes becomes less and less relevant.
#AlternativeGrading #Ungrading
#AlternativeGrading #Ungrading
Hot take:
Allowing retakes isn’t “soft” - it’s scientific. Mastery takes time.
Reassessment isn’t a second chance. It’s a better snapshot of learning.
#AlternativeGrading #RethinkTheGrade #EduSky
Allowing retakes isn’t “soft” - it’s scientific. Mastery takes time.
Reassessment isn’t a second chance. It’s a better snapshot of learning.
#AlternativeGrading #RethinkTheGrade #EduSky
June 26, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Hot take:
Allowing retakes isn’t “soft” - it’s scientific. Mastery takes time.
Reassessment isn’t a second chance. It’s a better snapshot of learning.
#AlternativeGrading #RethinkTheGrade #EduSky
Allowing retakes isn’t “soft” - it’s scientific. Mastery takes time.
Reassessment isn’t a second chance. It’s a better snapshot of learning.
#AlternativeGrading #RethinkTheGrade #EduSky
Today at Grading For Growth, I give 20 ways to get started with alternative grading on a small scale. Some of these are simple shifts in approach, while some are more concrete. But they are all good for students!
#alternativegrading #highereducation
gradingforgrowth.com...
#alternativegrading #highereducation
gradingforgrowth.com...
20 small starts for alternative grading
Meaningful reform of grading is within everyone's grasp.
gradingforgrowth.com
March 11, 2024 at 12:40 PM
Today at Grading For Growth, I give 20 ways to get started with alternative grading on a small scale. Some of these are simple shifts in approach, while some are more concrete. But they are all good for students!
#alternativegrading #highereducation
gradingforgrowth.com...
#alternativegrading #highereducation
gradingforgrowth.com...
Oops, almost forgot the punchline!
I know most people’s gut reaction to this is going to me “we should just randomize the grading order” but for me, the bigger upshot of this should be:
"Maybe we need to rethink the entire system of grading in the first place”.
#AlternativeGrading
I know most people’s gut reaction to this is going to me “we should just randomize the grading order” but for me, the bigger upshot of this should be:
"Maybe we need to rethink the entire system of grading in the first place”.
#AlternativeGrading
New research from UMichigan analyzing 30M Canvas records “reveals widespread sequential bias and system-induced surname initial disparity in grading”.
Credit: Full credit for the pictures to @sarahbana.bsky.social - hard to share content from Twitter on here, luckily they’re on here!
Credit: Full credit for the pictures to @sarahbana.bsky.social - hard to share content from Twitter on here, luckily they’re on here!
October 17, 2023 at 5:28 AM
Oops, almost forgot the punchline!
I know most people’s gut reaction to this is going to me “we should just randomize the grading order” but for me, the bigger upshot of this should be:
"Maybe we need to rethink the entire system of grading in the first place”.
#AlternativeGrading
I know most people’s gut reaction to this is going to me “we should just randomize the grading order” but for me, the bigger upshot of this should be:
"Maybe we need to rethink the entire system of grading in the first place”.
#AlternativeGrading
I spoke w @roberttalbert.bsky.social about our visit to the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, in Saudi Arabia, where we both spoke about #ungrading and #AlternativeGrading. Watch!
Alternative grading in Saudi Arabia: A conversation with Susan Blum gradingforgrowth.com/p/alternativ...
Alternative grading in Saudi Arabia: A conversation with Susan Blum gradingforgrowth.com/p/alternativ...
Alternative grading in Saudi Arabia: A conversation with Susan Blum
Curiosity, course design, and ungrading in the Middle East
gradingforgrowth.com
February 17, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I spoke w @roberttalbert.bsky.social about our visit to the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, in Saudi Arabia, where we both spoke about #ungrading and #AlternativeGrading. Watch!
Alternative grading in Saudi Arabia: A conversation with Susan Blum gradingforgrowth.com/p/alternativ...
Alternative grading in Saudi Arabia: A conversation with Susan Blum gradingforgrowth.com/p/alternativ...
Super excited to have @mctownsley.bsky.social come talk to my senior math majors in Capstone about #AlternativeGrading.
#MathSky
#MathSky
November 19, 2024 at 3:55 PM
Super excited to have @mctownsley.bsky.social come talk to my senior math majors in Capstone about #AlternativeGrading.
#MathSky
#MathSky
Its my 4th year teaching with #AlternativeGrading but I have my largest class yet (41). The combination of retakes/ revisions and a token system is feeling pretty hectic right now. I need to reflect over the break about what might need to be updated with a larger number of students. Thoughts?
November 19, 2024 at 12:54 PM
Its my 4th year teaching with #AlternativeGrading but I have my largest class yet (41). The combination of retakes/ revisions and a token system is feeling pretty hectic right now. I need to reflect over the break about what might need to be updated with a larger number of students. Thoughts?
Has anyone tried using standards-based grading in their biology courses? I am interested in exploring, and I would appreciate hearing about others' experiences, especially in large enrollment courses.
#STEMed #alternativegrading
#STEMed #alternativegrading
June 10, 2024 at 9:54 PM
Has anyone tried using standards-based grading in their biology courses? I am interested in exploring, and I would appreciate hearing about others' experiences, especially in large enrollment courses.
#STEMed #alternativegrading
#STEMed #alternativegrading
We now have an #AltGrading Feed!
(The # is optional, but old habits die hard 🕊️)
The feed should automatically pick up any post within the last 7 days, with both AltGrading and AlternativeGrading.
This can be customized later, so feedback is welcome !
☂️
h/t to @afreeparticle.com for inspiration
(The # is optional, but old habits die hard 🕊️)
The feed should automatically pick up any post within the last 7 days, with both AltGrading and AlternativeGrading.
This can be customized later, so feedback is welcome !
☂️
h/t to @afreeparticle.com for inspiration
July 27, 2023 at 8:45 PM
We now have an #AltGrading Feed!
(The # is optional, but old habits die hard 🕊️)
The feed should automatically pick up any post within the last 7 days, with both AltGrading and AlternativeGrading.
This can be customized later, so feedback is welcome !
☂️
h/t to @afreeparticle.com for inspiration
(The # is optional, but old habits die hard 🕊️)
The feed should automatically pick up any post within the last 7 days, with both AltGrading and AlternativeGrading.
This can be customized later, so feedback is welcome !
☂️
h/t to @afreeparticle.com for inspiration
This #AlternativeGrading thing is really picking up steam at my institution 😮💨! So much interest and activity everywhere !
Love being part of this community❤️💞.
Love being part of this community❤️💞.
October 12, 2023 at 6:09 AM
This #AlternativeGrading thing is really picking up steam at my institution 😮💨! So much interest and activity everywhere !
Love being part of this community❤️💞.
Love being part of this community❤️💞.
Today at #GradingForGrowth, AmyK Conley writes about how to use alternative grading with pre-service teachers - and the certifications standards they need to meet. #alternativegrading #altgrading
gradingforgrowth.com/p/growth-bas...
gradingforgrowth.com/p/growth-bas...
Growth-based grading for future educators
How alternative methods can be used with outside standards
gradingforgrowth.com
October 16, 2023 at 2:29 PM
Today at #GradingForGrowth, AmyK Conley writes about how to use alternative grading with pre-service teachers - and the certifications standards they need to meet. #alternativegrading #altgrading
gradingforgrowth.com/p/growth-bas...
gradingforgrowth.com/p/growth-bas...
FYI - for anyone wanting to try alternative grading this semester but feeling short on time to implement it, I *highly* recommend a 0-4 scale. I used it in my 400-level quantum class last semester and it was phenomenal. Happy to answer implementation questions. #alternativegrading
January 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
FYI - for anyone wanting to try alternative grading this semester but feeling short on time to implement it, I *highly* recommend a 0-4 scale. I used it in my 400-level quantum class last semester and it was phenomenal. Happy to answer implementation questions. #alternativegrading
Hot take: AI can support learning, but it shouldn’t be doing the grading.
Grading done right builds trust and connection. Traditional grading breaks it. Alternative grading restores it.
Where (if anywhere) do you see AI fitting into grading?
#AlternativeGrading #GradingReform #EduSky
Grading done right builds trust and connection. Traditional grading breaks it. Alternative grading restores it.
Where (if anywhere) do you see AI fitting into grading?
#AlternativeGrading #GradingReform #EduSky
July 28, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Hot take: AI can support learning, but it shouldn’t be doing the grading.
Grading done right builds trust and connection. Traditional grading breaks it. Alternative grading restores it.
Where (if anywhere) do you see AI fitting into grading?
#AlternativeGrading #GradingReform #EduSky
Grading done right builds trust and connection. Traditional grading breaks it. Alternative grading restores it.
Where (if anywhere) do you see AI fitting into grading?
#AlternativeGrading #GradingReform #EduSky
I’m presenting a session next week to our faculty on the pros/cons a 0-4 grading scale (instead of 0-100%) & how to “hack” our LMS gradebook to support it. I’m curious if anyone in my network has any resources, or insights with the 0-4 scale they would share with me?
#alternativegrading
#grading
#alternativegrading
#grading
May 8, 2024 at 3:05 AM
I’m presenting a session next week to our faculty on the pros/cons a 0-4 grading scale (instead of 0-100%) & how to “hack” our LMS gradebook to support it. I’m curious if anyone in my network has any resources, or insights with the 0-4 scale they would share with me?
#alternativegrading
#grading
#alternativegrading
#grading
Was looking for the address of a former student today when I came across this email from 2023. A great reminder of my
#Ungrading 'why' & motivation to continue despite the many challenges that can sometimes feel like...a lot. 😀 #alternativegrading
#Ungrading 'why' & motivation to continue despite the many challenges that can sometimes feel like...a lot. 😀 #alternativegrading
November 29, 2024 at 11:53 PM
Was looking for the address of a former student today when I came across this email from 2023. A great reminder of my
#Ungrading 'why' & motivation to continue despite the many challenges that can sometimes feel like...a lot. 😀 #alternativegrading
#Ungrading 'why' & motivation to continue despite the many challenges that can sometimes feel like...a lot. 😀 #alternativegrading
That moment when a Grade 9 shows you they have embraced the self-reflection process 😍 📖 #alternativegrading #EduSky
November 26, 2024 at 10:05 PM
That moment when a Grade 9 shows you they have embraced the self-reflection process 😍 📖 #alternativegrading #EduSky
What is your vote for an ☂️ Alternative Grading (Specs, Contract, Standards, Ungrading, etc) tag?
1️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/1" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#altgrading
2️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/2" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#AlternativeGrading
3️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/3" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#alternative_grading
4️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/4" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">Something else (post below)
📊 Show results
1️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/1" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#altgrading
2️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/2" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#AlternativeGrading
3️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/3" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#alternative_grading
4️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/4" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">Something else (post below)
📊 Show results
July 26, 2023 at 6:30 AM
What is your vote for an ☂️ Alternative Grading (Specs, Contract, Standards, Ungrading, etc) tag?
1️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/1" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#altgrading
2️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/2" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#AlternativeGrading
3️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/3" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#alternative_grading
4️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/4" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">Something else (post below)
📊 Show results
1️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/1" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#altgrading
2️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/2" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#AlternativeGrading
3️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/3" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">#alternative_grading
4️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/tXzry9/4" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">Something else (post below)
📊 Show results
“Mastery grading lowers standards.”
❌ FALSE.
It RAISES them because students don’t get to move on until they actually understand.
#GradingReform #EdThoughts #EduSky #AlternativeGrading
❌ FALSE.
It RAISES them because students don’t get to move on until they actually understand.
#GradingReform #EdThoughts #EduSky #AlternativeGrading
July 3, 2025 at 7:25 PM
“Mastery grading lowers standards.”
❌ FALSE.
It RAISES them because students don’t get to move on until they actually understand.
#GradingReform #EdThoughts #EduSky #AlternativeGrading
❌ FALSE.
It RAISES them because students don’t get to move on until they actually understand.
#GradingReform #EdThoughts #EduSky #AlternativeGrading