In this episode, Sharona and Boz welcome back Matt Townsley to dig into a critical—and often overlooked—truth about grading reform: if leaders don’t understand and support it, it simply won’t scale. Drawing on both research and real-world experience, Matt explains why grading reform is a “second-order change” that requires deep philosophical commitment from administrators, not just technical adjustments from teachers. The conversation explores the upcoming Iowa based leadership-focused standards-based grading conference, the role of systems-level support, and emerging frameworks like multi-tiered support for teacher implementation. Along the way, the trio connects these ideas to broader challenges in both K–12 and higher education, from structural barriers to the growing urgency of reform in the age of AI. The takeaway is clear: isolated classroom innovation isn’t enough—lasting change requires aligned leadership, intentional systems, and a shared purpose for what grades are meant to communicate.

Links

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• Standards-Based Grading Conference: The 3rd Annual Collaborative Assessment Conference for Leadership Teams
• All Things Standards-Based Grading, by Matt Townsley
• Grading Reform Isn't Options Anymore - Here's Why, with Matt Townsley
• Top 5 standards-based grading articles for 2025, by Matt Townsley
• When standards-based grading feels dark…and reassessments become the flashlight everyone reaches for later, by Matt Townsley
• Walking the talk: Embedding standards-based grading in an educational leadership course
• The 4 Common Myths about Grading Reform, Debunked, by Matt Townsley and Sarah Morriss

Previous Episodes Mentioned

• Episode 18 - Sportscaster of Alternative Grading
• Episode 46 – Extinguishing the Fires within Assessment and Grading Reform: Welcoming Back Dr. Matt Townsley
• Episode 48 - Implementation Challenges and Opportunities: A Conversation with Becky Peppler and Don Smith on Working with K-12 School Districts to implement Alternative Grading
• Episode 59 - Leaning Into ROI and Communication in Leading Grading Reform: An Interview with Dr. Chad Lang
• Episode 74 - Exploring Alt Grading in Physical Education (in more detail) with Josh Ogilvie

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:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

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.