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Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (Teaching and Learning in Higher Education) 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

4.6 out of 5 stars 317 ratings

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The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen educators write about their diverse experiences going gradeless. Some contributors are new to the practice and some have been engaging in it for decades. Some are in humanities and social sciences, some in STEM fields. Some are in higher education, but some are the K–12 pioneers who led the way. Based on rigorous and replicated research, this is the first book to show why and how faculty who wish to focus on learning, rather than sorting or judging, might proceed. It includes honest reflection on what makes ungrading challenging, and testimonials about what makes it transformative.


CONTRIBUTORS:

Aaron Blackwelder

Susan D. Blum

Arthur Chiaravalli

Gary Chu

Cathy N. Davidson

Laura Gibbs

Christina Katopodis

Joy Kirr

Alfie Kohn

Christopher Riesbeck

Starr Sackstein

Marcus Schultz-Bergin

Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh

Jesse Stommel

John Warner

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“I love this book. It undermines the mythology around grading, helping us understand that (a) grading is a construction, and a relatively recent one at that, and (b) we’d be better off without it—as would our students.”
Paul Hanstedt, author of
Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World

“Nuanced and well balanced.”
​​​​​​​Choice Reviews

From the Back Cover

The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen educators write about their diverse experiences going gradeless. Some contributors are new to the practice and some have been engaging in it for decades. Some are in humanities and social sciences, some in STEM fields. Some are in higher education, but some are the K–12 pioneers who led the way. Based on rigorous and replicated research, this is the first book to show why and how faculty who wish to focus on learning, rather than sorting or judging, might proceed. It includes honest reflection on what makes ungrading challenging, and testimonials about what makes it transformative.

CONTRIBUTORS:
Aaron Blackwelder
Susan D. Blum
Arthur Chiaravalli
Gary Chu
Cathy N. Davidson
Laura Gibbs
Christina Katopodis
Joy Kirr
Alfie Kohn
Christopher Riesbeck
Starr Sackstein
Marcus Schultz-Bergin
Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh
Jesse Stommel
John Warner

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08KH5C4WL
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ West Virginia University Press; 1st edition (December 1, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 1, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.9 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray for textbooks ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 269 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1949199827
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 317 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
317 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2024
    A very useful and thought provoking guide for educators thinking of removing grades from their courses. Plenty of examples of how this can be done across diverse disciplines. I found the arguments very convincing. I hope the upgrading movement continues to gain momentum so that we can focus on student learning rather than grade justification.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2024
    Really informative and has changed my practices
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2022
    This book is a collection of essays from different educators about their reflections and practices designed to work around traditional grading. Most of the contributors are from university settings, but some are from K12. The combination of the forward by Alfie Kohn, the overviews by the editor Susan Blum, and the contributions from the different educators provide a very good understanding of the negative impacts of traditional grading. The main message is how grades distract from real learning, e.g. how students do what they must to get the grade without any concern about what they are learning. We also read about the inconsistencies and arbitrary nature of grades, in addition to the inequities related to treating every student the same. And we read about different approaches that have worked for the contributors. For any educators who have concerns about grading, reading the different perspectives and stories from the multiple sources provides a rich body of perspectives and experiences to inform and assist others who wish to try to change their own practices. That is the strength of this book.

    I enjoyed reading the different perspectives on "ungrading." Nevertheless, I was disappointed by the sole focus on grading. In particular, while the educators here made real progress in moving from ranking to constructive feedback, they seem to all have continued the same content and curricula they have always used. They assume that students will be well served by learning what the teacher believes is important in the way that makes sense for the teacher. That is certainly the well-accepted way. However, modern learning science and experience have clearly shown that the best learning occurs when students find the work interesting and engaging and have a chance to learn largely in their own ways. This involves teachers getting to know their specific students and mentoring them to engage in authentic learning experiences that are meaningful for those students and largely self-directed while also leading them to master skills and content that the teacher knows are important for each student's development. While assessment is a big barrier, the compliant, pour-knowledge-into-young-minds approach is also a major issue. For education to be effective and equitable, one must look at all aspects of learning and the learning environment together. In that sense this book can contribute as part of a larger effort, but I would advise doing the same kinds of reflection and experimentation on the entire learning environment.
    14 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2025
    quick & nice! thanks
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2021
    Ungrading is a provocative anthology of approaches to assessments that go far beyond the simple letter grade. While “ungrading” implies the absence of grades, it does not mean students are not assessed on their assignments. Instead, the authors suggest a variety of ways that assessment can be more valuable for students and teachers. The ideas can be easily scaled from elementary school to university and adapted for the humanities and the sciences.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2021
    As an advocate of self-directed education trying to survive in higher education, I was so grateful to find the #ungrading community on Twitter and even more excited that I stumbled into this community as this book was being released. I love that each chapter is written by different educators. It would make a great read independently but would be even better if read by the whole staff of a school or district with asynchronous brainstorming and discussion about how to implement within your sphere.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2021
    This book does a great job of introducing ungrading as well as sharing a wide variety of different approaches and practices to employing ungrading. I started ungrading in my own classes before reading the book, but each chapter still offered really wonderful insights and inspiration. Everyone should read it!
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2021
    Every teacher should read this book! It really made me think about how and why I assess my students. Several viewpoints are offered and I found items from several of the authors that I was able to implement successfully in my own classroom.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Grammaticus
    1.0 out of 5 stars Unreadable
    Reviewed in Canada on November 30, 2024
    This book may contain insightful and useful guidance on "ungrading." Unfortunately, the book is written as if the editor and contributors felt they needed to make light of the subject matter in order to get people to read it. Ka-pow! Let's make a joke of ourselves. Just kidding. Ugh.

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