The Grading Podcast 117 - Excuses, excuses: 10 Reasons People Give for NOT Implementing Alternative Grading and How To Reply to Them
In this episode, Boz and Sharona dig into the instant reactions that educators often have when they first hear about alternative grading. Inspired by Dr. David Clark’s recent Grading for Growth blog post titled “Kneejerk Reactions,” Boz and Sharona unpack the most common reflexive objections to grading reform and explore practical, compassionate ways to respond.
From “Retakes aren’t real world!” to “It might work for your students, but not mine,” they share stories and examples while dissecting how these quick defenses often mask deeper fears or misunderstandings about teaching, learning, and assessment. Along the way, they connect these reactions to issues of equity, institutional inertia, and the psychology of survivorship bias that keeps the “traditional grading” game alive.
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!
- Episode 21 – Alt Grading in Large Chemistry Classes: An Interview with Dr. Eden Tanner
- Episode 70 – A Reassessments Deep Dive with Becky Peppler
- Episode 88 – Unearned Grades: Remaking the Conversation about Grade “Inflation”
- Episode 114 – Grading What Matters: Leveraging Extrinsic Motivation to Grow Students in Multiple Dimensions
Resources
The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.
The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.
Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:
Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:
- Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
- Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
- Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel
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Music
Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.