In this episode, Sharona and Boz welcome back David Clark to unpack his recent end-of-semester “3x3x3” reflection blog post for Grading for Growth. Using a structure of three surprises, three lessons learned, and three lingering questions, the conversation explores everything from refining standards-based grading systems after more than a decade of iteration to the growing reality that students themselves are beginning to read and discuss alternative grading literature. Along the way, the trio dives into the importance of positive feedback, the role of classroom relationships and physical learning spaces, the challenges of designing meaningful assessments in the age of AI, and the tension between flexibility and structure in student learning.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Reflections on a Year of Alternative Grading
• Episode 100 - Getting the Band Back Together
• Exploring the effects of artificial intelligence on student and academic well-being in higher education: a mini-review
• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Students’ Academic Development
• David Clark's Website

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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.

In this episode, Sharona and Boz welcome back Dan Guberman to discuss his new book, Designing Impactful College Courses: Applying Self-Determination Theory to Unleash the Potential of Autonomy-Supportive Learning Environments. The conversation explores how self-determination theory, which is a framework centered on autonomy, competence, and relatedness, provides a powerful lens for understanding both grading reform and course design more broadly.

Dan shares his journey from music professor to alternative grading advocate, explains how traditional grading systems often function as tools for behavioral control, and argues that meaningful learning requires environments that foster internal motivation rather than compliance. Along the way, we dive into topics like backwards design, standards-based assessment, late work, intrinsic motivation, and why so many grading decisions are far more arbitrary than we realize. Blending theory with highly practical classroom examples, this episode ultimately challenges all of us to rethink not just how we grade, but how our entire course structure shapes students’ relationships with learning.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

Use discount code ADC26 to get 30% off of

Designing Impactful College Courses

• Designing Impactful College Courses: Applying Self-termination Theory to Unleash the Potential of Autonomy-Supportive Learning Environments, by Dan Guberman, et al (on Routledge)
• Teaching Intercultural Competence Through Heavy Metal Music, by Dan Guberman, et al
• An Urgency of Teachers: the Work of Critical Digital Pedagogy, by Jesse Stommel, et al
• Course Redesign Cycle (diagram) by Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley
• Center for Self-Determination Theory

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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.

In this episode, Sharona and Boz are joined by Dan Guberman and Kimberly Ellen Hall to reflect on a recent Grading for Growth post exploring how alternative grading can make teaching more joyful. The conversation moves beyond the usual student-centered arguments for grading reform and instead examines how abandoning points-based systems can fundamentally transform instructors’ relationships with their work, their students, and even themselves. Drawing on experiences from music conservatories, art schools, mathematics classrooms, and online humanities courses, the group discusses everything from attendance and student motivation to embodied learning, handwritten reflection, and the emotional exhaustion caused by traditional grading systems. Along the way, they explore how alternative grading shifts classroom conversations away from compliance and toward genuine engagement, why arts education offers important lessons for all disciplines, and how grading reform can open space for creativity, connection, and meaningful learning.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Grading that Feels Good, the Grading for Growth Blog
• An Introduction to the Theory of Embodied Cognition

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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.

In this episode, Sharona and Boz are joined by Teresa Focarile, Director of Educational Development at Boise State University, to discuss her first semester implementing an alternative grading system in an Introduction to Theater course. Teresa shares how moving away from weighted averages toward a blend of specifications and mastery-based grading transformed not only the clarity of her course, but also the way students engaged with learning itself. Through transparent grade pathways, co-created rubrics, opportunities for revision, and clearly articulated learning levels like “informed audience member” and “theater artist,” students reported feeling more empowered, less anxious, and more focused on genuine learning rather than point accumulation. The conversation explores everything from the challenges of tracking systems and feedback loops to the realities of implementing alternative grading as an adjunct faculty member, while also highlighting how arts education naturally raises important questions about what grades should actually communicate. Throughout the episode, a central theme emerges: when grading systems become more transparent and human-centered, students are more likely to see the classroom as a place designed to support learning rather than simply sort performance.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Intro to Theater Syllabus, by Teresa Focarile

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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.

In this episode, Sharona and Boz explore what assessment might look like in a world increasingly shaped by AI. Starting with a recent article from faculty at Middlebury College challenging institutions to recenter learning rather than ranking students, the conversation moves into a provocative discussion of oral exams, authentic assessment, and the growing limitations of traditional testing. The hosts unpack a history professor’s experiment with 71 oral final exams in 12 days, reflecting on the power of conversation-based assessment to deepen feedback, strengthen trust, and reveal genuine student understanding in ways that written exams often cannot. Along the way, they connect these ideas to their own classroom experiences, the challenges AI poses for validating student work, and the need for assessments that emphasize creativity, revision, human interaction, and meaningful thinking over rote production. Ultimately, the episode argues that the future of grading reform may depend not only on changing how we grade, but on fundamentally reimagining how we assess learning itself.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Recentering learning when we talk about grades
• What I learned from giving 71 oral exams in 12 days
• Finding Meaningful Moments in a Merger

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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.

In this episode, Sharona and Boz take a deep dive into a recent research study on specifications grading in a large-enrollment chemistry course, uncovering a story that is both encouraging and complicated. While the data shows clear gains—grades increased across all student groups, including those historically underserved—the hoped-for closure of opportunity gaps proved far more elusive. Using both the study’s findings and their own long-term course redesign experience, the hosts explore what this tension reveals: grading reform can raise outcomes broadly, but it is not a silver bullet for equity. The conversation highlights the importance of implementation details, support structures, and ongoing iteration, as well as the need to look beyond grades to fully understand student experiences. Ultimately, this episode underscores a central truth of grading reform work—real change is possible, but it requires sustained, nuanced effort and a willingness to engage with complexity rather than simple narratives.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Specifications Grading and Equity, by M. Stains, L. Morkowchuk and B. Yik on the Grading for Growth Blog
• Balancing Equity in General Chemistry Laboratory Courses: The Complex Impact of Specifications Grading on Student Success and Opportunity Gaps, by B. Yik, et al, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society
• Spring 2026 Community of Practice
• Fall 2026 MAA OPEN Math Faculty Learning Community

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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.

In this episode, Sharona and Boz preview the upcoming 2026 Grading Conference while also diving into one of the most urgent emerging issues in education: the role of AI in grading and feedback. After highlighting exciting conference sessions—from new research studies and faculty learning communities to sessions on large-scale implementation, student agency, and ungrading—the conversation pivots to the ethical, practical, and philosophical implications of AI-assisted assessment. Sharona and Boz explore whether AI can improve consistency, speed, and scalability in grading—especially in large classes—while wrestling with concerns about bias, depersonalization, and the erosion of student-instructor relationships. Rather than offering easy answers, the episode frames AI as a powerful but potentially dangerous tool that educators must approach intentionally, asking not just whether AI can grade, but whether its use strengthens or weakens the fundamentally human purpose of education.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Schedule for the 2026 Grading Conference
• Spring 2026 Faculty Learning Community on Alt Grading - Hosted by Drew Lewis and Melanie Lenahan
• MAA OPEN Math Fall Faculty Learning Community on Alt Grading - Registration and Information - Hosted by Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley
• How AI-Powered Essay Grading Is Transforming Modern Education Systems
• Is It Ethical to Use AI to Grade?

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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.

In this episode, Sharona and Boz are joined by electrical engineering professor Tim Monk to tackle a surprisingly thorny piece of grading design: how to combine multiple types of assessment into a final course grade. Starting from a listener email that initially raised skepticism, the conversation unpacks Tim’s approach to blending standards-based grading for learning targets with specifications grading for projects—using a carefully designed weighted system at the final “wrap-up” stage. Rather than relying on averages throughout the course, Tim uses them intentionally at the end as a communication tool, avoiding common pitfalls like masking learning gaps or penalizing early mistakes. The discussion surfaces key tensions around grading philosophy, clarity for students, and the trade-offs between precision and flexibility, ultimately reinforcing a central theme of the podcast: there is no single “right” system—only intentional design aligned to what grades are meant to communicate about student learning.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• The 2 Sigma Problem: The Search for Methods of Group Instruction as Effective as One-to-One Tutoring, by Benjamin Bloom
• Wikipedia Entry on Bloom's 2 Sigma Problem

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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.

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

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• 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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.

In this episode, Sharona and Boz are joined by Deb Carney to explore the complex role of course coordination in the adoption of alternative grading practices. What emerges is a nuanced tension: coordination can act as a barrier when individual instructors lack autonomy, but it also offers one of the most powerful levers for large-scale change when coordinators embrace reform. Deb shares her journey into outcomes-based grading and reflects on how collaboration, community, and shared structures made that shift possible. The conversation highlights the importance of communities of practice, either through formal coordination or PLC-like structures, as essential spaces for sustained instructional change. Ultimately, the episode argues that meaningful grading reform is not just about individual instructors making different choices, but about building systems, support, and collective momentum to make those choices viable and scalable.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Mastery-Based Testing in Linear Algebra: An Entry Point to Alternative Grading, by R. Swanson, A. Bingham, M. Sanders and C. Moulton
• Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education Conference
• Project EMBER: Eliminating Mathematics Barriers through Evidence-based Reforms
• Join EMBER on Zulip
• Course Coordinator Orientations Toward Their Work, by A. Martinez, J. Gehrtz, C. Rasmussen, T. Latona-Tequida and K. Vroom
• TPSE: Transforming Post-Secondary Education in Mathematics

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

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

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.