Book Club

Are you truly satisfied with your current grading system? Does it reflect your students’ actual learning and growth—or can it be gamed? Does it encourage meaningful learning, or does it lead to grade-grubbing and unnecessary friction? In Grading for Growth, two mathematics professors—drawing on their own experience and insights from colleagues across disciplines—present a fundamentally more effective and authentic approach to grading that they have successfully used for over a decade.

Traditional grading often penalizes students during the learning process by limiting opportunities for feedback and revision. In contrast, alternative grading focuses on a student’s eventual understanding, allowing room for reflection, iteration, and growth. It transforms the classroom dynamic: students revisit earlier missteps, learn from feedback, and shift conversations from “Why did I lose points?” to deeper discussions about content and process.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to alternative grading, including frameworks, real-world examples, and evidence of effectiveness. It explores approaches such as Standards-Based Grading, Specifications Grading, and ungrading—showcasing how they can work in any discipline, class size, or format. Faculty contributors share firsthand stories and practices from a wide range of institutional settings. A dedicated workbook chapter helps readers begin designing their own alternative grading system, with step-by-step guidance and practical advice for implementation.

Core principles of alternative grading include:

• Assessing student work based on clearly defined and meaningful standards
• Providing actionable, growth-oriented feedback
• Using progress indicators instead of arbitrary points
• Supporting revision without penalty until standards are met or exceeded

Whether you're exploring new assessment approaches or refining a system already in place, Grading for Growth offers an empowering, student-centered model that reimagines how we evaluate learning.