

80: The Results are IN! Traditional Grading and Alternative Grading Went HEAD TO HEAD!!! What happened?
In this episode, Sharona and Bosley share some of the top line results of a direct comparison between traditional grading and alternative grading. In a tightly coordinated course with many instructors, sections and students, half of the sections used traditional grading and half used alternative grading. This is a fascinating dive into what does "traditional" grading mean, and how do those impacts show up in the classroom.
Please note - at the time of this recording we are still dealing with the ongoing fires in Los Angeles. If you are interested in helping, there are links before specifically for disaster relief.
Links
Links this week are just for supporting the LA fire efforts. A few recommended charities include:
- World Central Kitchen - California Relief Efforts
- Wildfire Relief through the Pasadena Humane Society
- Los Angeles Regional Food Back - Disaster Relief Fund
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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All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Music
Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.