Ungrading

Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead)

By: Susan D. Blum - editor, Alfie Kohn - foreword

Narrated by: Emily Durante, Matthew Josdal, Alfie Kohn

The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, 15 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 West Virginia University Press; Foreword copyright 2020 by Alfie Kohn (P)2021 Tantor

Those who have gone before give advice

It’s not a how to book. The authors set up the premise and then each chapter offers an educators experience. The selection of educators ranges from pre-high school through graduate school. I think it’s worth a read/listen as part of your research into the subject.

Good book but the PDF is missing

As I listened to the book, I made note of things that I wanted to look up in the PDF and I was really disappointed that I didn't receive it. I should have simply bought a hard copy.

Fascinating Techniques

I loved the variety of practical examples of non-graded curriculum techniques. Love Alfie Kohn's work, but way too abstract sometimes. This book grounds change with relateable examples with varying degrees of implementation. Only thing lacking is how to communicate subject importance. Many examples in the book referenced the need to get students invested in the class by making it relevant and important to their lives. I wish there were more examples of how to do with for subjects like algebra.

Already outdated

One of the contributors used a scene from a coming-of-age film from the 1980s(!) to demonstrate that teachers can get their students interested if the teacher just tries hard enough. It’s Hollywood not real life. And, um, the 1980s???

Disappointing

I went into this book with an eager and open mind because I, too, have questions about the utility and effect of grades. I was interested in exploring a new paradigm, and I was expecting a reasoned, thorough, systematic, and evidence-based text on how to go gradeless. Instead, what i got was a bunch of anecdotes, assertions, poeticisms, and confirmation biases. Most ideas are unsupported and some are just flatly wrong. It makes the instructors therein seem simply unqualified, uninformed, and agenda-driven. Proceed with caution, dear reader. My concern now is that the advice and philosophy presented here may actually undermine student flourishing while masking that harsh truth behind positive, first-hand, bias-affirming experiences in the classroom (i.e., of course many students would be happier without grades; of course going gradeless would alleviate some challenges for the instructor; but that doesn’t imply the outcome is in fact better).