The way our teaching is evaluated for tenure leads to impractical faddishness. Important here to be able to explain in writing how your teaching has evolved. It's easier to write successful statements in faddish terms ("ungrading!" "flipped!"). Harder to describe "I talk good, they learn much."
September 30, 2026 at 3:08 PM
The way our teaching is evaluated for tenure leads to impractical faddishness. Important here to be able to explain in writing how your teaching has evolved. It's easier to write successful statements in faddish terms ("ungrading!" "flipped!"). Harder to describe "I talk good, they learn much."
ungrading
Astonishing to see it even being discussed. One highly placed person told me they supported AI grading in large classes because “it’s better than nothing.” when I asked why the university couldn’t hire enough people to grade those students’ work he said “well that’s not realistic.”
Automated grading of student writing should have been a clear no-go from the beginning. I wrote this over three years ago and I can't believe how many faculty have allowed themselves to be seduced by this. Students rightly see this as betrayal. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
September 22, 2026 at 1:45 PM
ungrading
Examining Ungrading as a Tool for Transformative Social Change #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79780
September 15, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Examining Ungrading as a Tool for Transformative Social Change #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/79780
You're touching something real here. Ungrading lets students show what they actually learned instead of chasing points. One angle: tracking growth over time tends to stick with people way more than a final grade ever does. Curious how it lands for you this fall.
September 15, 2026 at 6:06 PM
You're touching something real here. Ungrading lets students show what they actually learned instead of chasing points. One angle: tracking growth over time tends to stick with people way more than a final grade ever does. Curious how it lands for you this fall.
Hi friends! It’s been a minute!
Happy to share some ammunition to make brave choices in your learning spaces ❤️
#ungrading #stem #highered
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Happy to share some ammunition to make brave choices in your learning spaces ❤️
#ungrading #stem #highered
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Ungrading in a third-year biology laboratory indicates positive student results without loss of outcomes | Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
Despite its ubiquity in formal education, traditional grading has long been criticized
for its limitations in accurately reflecting student learning (1–4). Compounding the problem of inaccurate measur...
journals.asm.org
September 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Hi friends! It’s been a minute!
Happy to share some ammunition to make brave choices in your learning spaces ❤️
#ungrading #stem #highered
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Happy to share some ammunition to make brave choices in your learning spaces ❤️
#ungrading #stem #highered
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Looking forward to presenting at IDEC next weekend and sharing how I worked with students to design their learning! Making Ss the integral part of the classroom design that they always should have been made for a much healthier classroom with more authentic learning for all. #assessment #ungrading
September 7, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Looking forward to presenting at IDEC next weekend and sharing how I worked with students to design their learning! Making Ss the integral part of the classroom design that they always should have been made for a much healthier classroom with more authentic learning for all. #assessment #ungrading
📝 "Trying out some ungrading"
Rethinking assessment: testing out "ungrading" this fall.
👤 Cynthia D'Angelo (@cmdangelo.bsky.social)
🔗 https://cynthiadangelo.com/2022/08/25/trying-out-some-ungrading/
#rladies#rstats#oldiebutgoodie#research#teaching#academia#grading#learning#ungrading
Rethinking assessment: testing out "ungrading" this fall.
👤 Cynthia D'Angelo (@cmdangelo.bsky.social)
🔗 https://cynthiadangelo.com/2022/08/25/trying-out-some-ungrading/
#rladies#rstats#oldiebutgoodie#research#teaching#academia#grading#learning#ungrading
September 6, 2026 at 11:24 AM
📝 "Trying out some ungrading"
Rethinking assessment: testing out "ungrading" this fall.
👤 Cynthia D'Angelo (@cmdangelo.bsky.social)
🔗 https://cynthiadangelo.com/2022/08/25/trying-out-some-ungrading/
#rladies#rstats#oldiebutgoodie#research#teaching#academia#grading#learning#ungrading
Rethinking assessment: testing out "ungrading" this fall.
👤 Cynthia D'Angelo (@cmdangelo.bsky.social)
🔗 https://cynthiadangelo.com/2022/08/25/trying-out-some-ungrading/
#rladies#rstats#oldiebutgoodie#research#teaching#academia#grading#learning#ungrading
How can you incorporate relational marking or other ungrading methods into your classroom? @profcathyelliott.bsky.social from UCL says it's through unlearning established patterns. Listen to Cathy's full interview on our podcast 'Create. Share. Engage.' podcast.mahara.org/2018360/epis...
September 3, 2026 at 7:07 PM
How can you incorporate relational marking or other ungrading methods into your classroom? @profcathyelliott.bsky.social from UCL says it's through unlearning established patterns. Listen to Cathy's full interview on our podcast 'Create. Share. Engage.' podcast.mahara.org/2018360/epis...
Students reflect at the end of term in the class of @profcathyelliott.bsky.social. This is their opportunity to think about their work and what they have learned. Listen to the entire interview to learn how Cathy uses ungrading to improve student learning. podcast.mahara.org/2018360/epis...
September 1, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Students reflect at the end of term in the class of @profcathyelliott.bsky.social. This is their opportunity to think about their work and what they have learned. Listen to the entire interview to learn how Cathy uses ungrading to improve student learning. podcast.mahara.org/2018360/epis...
• Developing interactive historical, literary, and scientific agents that personalize student inquiry;
• Implementing ungrading and critical self-reflection to help learners integrate their academic work with lived experiences and goals;
• Implementing ungrading and critical self-reflection to help learners integrate their academic work with lived experiences and goals;
September 1, 2026 at 8:05 PM
• Developing interactive historical, literary, and scientific agents that personalize student inquiry;
• Implementing ungrading and critical self-reflection to help learners integrate their academic work with lived experiences and goals;
• Implementing ungrading and critical self-reflection to help learners integrate their academic work with lived experiences and goals;
And notice you can do this with traditional grading or some form of ungrading; they only thing is that for the incentive to work, there have to be real stakes. Doesn’t have to be a huge portion of the grade; it can be very very low stakes, only a few points.
August 28, 2026 at 8:57 PM
And notice you can do this with traditional grading or some form of ungrading; they only thing is that for the incentive to work, there have to be real stakes. Doesn’t have to be a huge portion of the grade; it can be very very low stakes, only a few points.
To your wider question, is it possible to maintain an in-person exam? In that case I’d move towards Ungrading methods for most of the course. Do the work and you get the grade. But use the exam as the way to identify who let Claude do all the work and who learned (whether assisted by Claude or not).
August 28, 2026 at 4:29 PM
To your wider question, is it possible to maintain an in-person exam? In that case I’d move towards Ungrading methods for most of the course. Do the work and you get the grade. But use the exam as the way to identify who let Claude do all the work and who learned (whether assisted by Claude or not).
Ungrading ftw - MIT is the first university to take a proper stand against AI:
They make some stellar recommendations, including a whole section on grades. I'm going to post a screenshot of the section here, and then add some commentary about different pieces of it. 2/x
August 28, 2026 at 5:35 AM
Ungrading ftw - MIT is the first university to take a proper stand against AI:
Yes! As an advocate of the ungrading movement, I approve!!
They make some stellar recommendations, including a whole section on grades. I'm going to post a screenshot of the section here, and then add some commentary about different pieces of it. 2/x
August 27, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Yes! As an advocate of the ungrading movement, I approve!!
We need more student voices in the discourse & debates about grades. Check out this new #TeaForTeaching episode, featuring students from my Syracuse University honors seminar, "Problems with Grades." #ungrading
teaforteaching.podbean.com/e/the-proble...
teaforteaching.podbean.com/e/the-proble...
The Problem with Grades | Tea for Teaching
Traditional grading systems encourage students to focus on final grades, sometimes at the expense of learning. In this episode, Jessamyn Neuhaus, Ashley Cambareri, and Cole Bailey discuss challenges a...
teaforteaching.podbean.com
August 27, 2026 at 1:42 PM
We need more student voices in the discourse & debates about grades. Check out this new #TeaForTeaching episode, featuring students from my Syracuse University honors seminar, "Problems with Grades." #ungrading
teaforteaching.podbean.com/e/the-proble...
teaforteaching.podbean.com/e/the-proble...
Mind the Grade: Authentic Assessment in the Age of AI
My latest thoughts about assessment - EdCan August 2026.
#assessment #ungrading #AI #OntEd
www.edcan.ca/articles/min...
My latest thoughts about assessment - EdCan August 2026.
#assessment #ungrading #AI #OntEd
www.edcan.ca/articles/min...
Mind the Grade: Authentic Assessment in the Age of AI | EdCan Network
Artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly, leaving education in a state of flux, but what if the most important move is to pause and think? AI’s uncertainty is real, and its […]
www.edcan.ca
August 26, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Mind the Grade: Authentic Assessment in the Age of AI
My latest thoughts about assessment - EdCan August 2026.
#assessment #ungrading #AI #OntEd
www.edcan.ca/articles/min...
My latest thoughts about assessment - EdCan August 2026.
#assessment #ungrading #AI #OntEd
www.edcan.ca/articles/min...
Always a pleasure to go back on the Mahara pod to talk portfolios and ungrading
@profcathyelliott.bsky.social shares why portfolios are well suited for relational marking. Portfolios help students reap enormous benefits when taking this approach over conventional assessments. Listen to her interview on my podcast 'Create. Share. Engage.' podcast.mahara.org/2018360/epis...
August 26, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Always a pleasure to go back on the Mahara pod to talk portfolios and ungrading
Relational marking focuses on the student's entire learning journey in a course rather than a one-time assessment, says @profcathyelliott.bsky.social from UCL. That's why the portfolio is a perfect fit for that form of ungrading. podcast.mahara.org/2018360/epis...
August 26, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Relational marking focuses on the student's entire learning journey in a course rather than a one-time assessment, says @profcathyelliott.bsky.social from UCL. That's why the portfolio is a perfect fit for that form of ungrading. podcast.mahara.org/2018360/epis...
It’s a reminder that the classroom doesn’t exist in isolation and that pedagogical decisions benefit from considering the broader context.
#grading #ungrading #HigherEd
#grading #ungrading #HigherEd
August 20, 2026 at 1:50 PM
It’s a reminder that the classroom doesn’t exist in isolation and that pedagogical decisions benefit from considering the broader context.
#grading #ungrading #HigherEd
#grading #ungrading #HigherEd
I'm very excited to be presenting at IDEC 2026 on Sunday, Sept 13! This is an amazing conference that I would highly recommend to educators everywhere! #ungrading #assessment #democraticeducation
August 17, 2026 at 8:23 PM
I'm very excited to be presenting at IDEC 2026 on Sunday, Sept 13! This is an amazing conference that I would highly recommend to educators everywhere! #ungrading #assessment #democraticeducation
I’ve gone from #ungrading in my HS ELA class back to traditional grading w/reflections. Grade pitches seemed to work for me for a few years, then Ss began pitching As and I couldn’t scaffold the reflections on progress that I felt were needed. Grading is so ingrained. #assessment
I've had freshman have no joke nervous breakdowns over grades. I've had more than one student cry in front of me bc they thought they were gonna fail my course & had no way back. Not all but many students at elite unis have extremely unhealthy relationships w grading that needs to be changed.
this week I spoke to a family member and realized that the very good U of M decision to hide first-semester grades is already getting turned into a dumb culture war thing.
this is an incredibly good decision that makes sense pedagogically. it gives them permission to learn when habits are forming.
this is an incredibly good decision that makes sense pedagogically. it gives them permission to learn when habits are forming.
August 16, 2026 at 5:13 PM
I’ve gone from #ungrading in my HS ELA class back to traditional grading w/reflections. Grade pitches seemed to work for me for a few years, then Ss began pitching As and I couldn’t scaffold the reflections on progress that I felt were needed. Grading is so ingrained. #assessment
That last part is what all of us ought to be talking about. The fault doesn't lie with the students (too anxious, grade-grubbers, etc.) but w/ grading itself. Grades undermine interest in learning, quality of thinking, & preference for challenge.
My foreword to the anthology Ungrading: is.gd/Ng095Y
My foreword to the anthology Ungrading: is.gd/Ng095Y
Foreword to Ungrading
Foreword to Ungrading 2020 Foreword Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead), edited by Susan D. Blum (West Virginia University Press, 2020) By Alfie Kohn Three conc...
is.gd
August 16, 2026 at 1:28 PM
That last part is what all of us ought to be talking about. The fault doesn't lie with the students (too anxious, grade-grubbers, etc.) but w/ grading itself. Grades undermine interest in learning, quality of thinking, & preference for challenge.
My foreword to the anthology Ungrading: is.gd/Ng095Y
My foreword to the anthology Ungrading: is.gd/Ng095Y
The fault doesn't lie w/ the students (too anxious, grade-grubbers, etc.) but w/grading itself. Research shows that the presence of - & systemic emphasis on - grades undermines interest in learning, quality of thinking, & preference for challenge.
My foreword to the anthology Ungrading: is.gd/Ng095Y
My foreword to the anthology Ungrading: is.gd/Ng095Y
Foreword to Ungrading
Foreword to Ungrading 2020 Foreword Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead), edited by Susan D. Blum (West Virginia University Press, 2020) By Alfie Kohn Three conc...
www.alfiekohn.org
August 16, 2026 at 1:24 PM
The fault doesn't lie w/ the students (too anxious, grade-grubbers, etc.) but w/grading itself. Research shows that the presence of - & systemic emphasis on - grades undermines interest in learning, quality of thinking, & preference for challenge.
My foreword to the anthology Ungrading: is.gd/Ng095Y
My foreword to the anthology Ungrading: is.gd/Ng095Y
Ungrading is definitely worth investigating. But just listing mental health as the reason for it undermines the actual systemic impact grades have before and well beyond graduation. There has to be a fuller commitment to making learning better for everyone.
August 15, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Ungrading is definitely worth investigating. But just listing mental health as the reason for it undermines the actual systemic impact grades have before and well beyond graduation. There has to be a fuller commitment to making learning better for everyone.
Hmm, IDK. There have been many pilot programs like this using systems like ungrading, pass/fail, justify your grade etc. b/c grades tend to have the same weight well after you leave an institution, which, depending on who you ask, is a good or a bad thing. However, the reason here is...interesting.
The kids are weak and I blame the parents. America ain’t gone make it.
August 15, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Hmm, IDK. There have been many pilot programs like this using systems like ungrading, pass/fail, justify your grade etc. b/c grades tend to have the same weight well after you leave an institution, which, depending on who you ask, is a good or a bad thing. However, the reason here is...interesting.