The Grading Podcast 126 - AI-Aware Teaching, Mastery Quizzes, and the Future of Grading with Derek Bruff
Dec 9, 2025
Derek Bruff, an educator and higher-ed consultant, delves into the evolving landscape of assessment in a tech-driven world. He shares his transformative journey from traditional grading to mastery-based assessments and discusses the implications of AI in education. Derek introduces the Alternative Grading Institute at UVA, emphasizing collaborative and standards-based grading approaches. He encourages faculty to rethink curricula in light of AI, advocating for grading reforms that promote student self-efficacy and resilience against shortcuts.
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Office-Hour Test Corrections Worked
- Derek Bruff first tried test corrections as a grad student and found they got struggling students into office hours.
- He valued the interpersonal connection and the opportunity for students to relearn material through corrections.
Mastery Quizzes With Unlimited Retakes
- At Harvard Derek used mastery quizzes requiring high thresholds and unlimited retakes in office hours until students passed.
- One student took ten attempts and felt immense pride when she finally passed.
Replacing Exams With Mastery Paths
- In a cryptography seminar Derek replaced a high-stakes exam with mastery quizzes and let students skip the exam if they passed all quizzes.
- The approach revealed who actually learned math and helped struggling students reach mastery.
