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Research and ideas about reforming grading practices in higher education and beyond.

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Fall break

Enjoy a few past posts from the middle of the semester

David Clark

Oct 23, 2023

Today is Fall Break here at GVSU, so we too are taking a break. Next week, we’ll feature a guest post by Kate Owens paying tribute to alternative grading pioneer George McNulty.

If you’re feeling lost without our weekly thoughts, here are a few practical past posts for the middle of the semester:

1. How to set midterm grades in alternatively graded classes:

Midterm grades

David Clark

October 11, 2021

It’s nearing the middle of the semester, and that means many of us are dealing with midterm grades. If you’re using an assessment system where the focus is on feedback and revision, this can cause some trouble. How do you determine a midterm grade when a student’s learning is truly

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2. Trying to figure out what to do with your final exam? Here are some ideas:

Hacking your final exam for alternative grading

Robert Talbert

Apr 3

Hacking your final exam for alternative grading

Don't look now, but it's almost the end of the academic year. It's close enough to see summer break on the calendar and feel anticipatory joy. But it's far enough away to also see the last week of classes and final exam week in the same view. Which really kills the "summer freedom" vibe.

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3. A few thoughts about what you shouldn’t expect from alternative grading:

Limitations

David Clark

January 17, 2022

Robert and I write a lot about the benefits of using assessments that follow the four pillars. Improving your assessment system can decrease test anxiety in students. Students tend to focus more on learning, especially by revisiting previous topics that they still need to work on. Office hour conversations improve, students w…

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See you next week!