Specifications grading sets specific grading criteria and outlines course deliverables into bundles according to final letter grades. Grading is often complete/incomplete or a combination with options to revise. Tokens provide awards or free passes, as determined by the instructor (such as free absences, skipping an assignment, dropping a lower grade assignment, or a point bump at the end if students don’t use any tokens). Students complete the specification bundles for the final grade they want.  

“For our students, we should carefully select a limited number of requirements that are really important for them to focus on and for us to assess in a particular assignment or test.” -Linda B. Nilson p.58 

 While there are as many ways to do specifications grading as there are courses, the following is a basic outline.  

• Align assignments to course outcomes 
• Be explicit in your assignment instruction and rationale 
• Provide explicit measures in the associated rubric for the assignment 
• Bundle and outline the work required for each letter grade 
• Provide tokens and outline associated privileges for their use 

The key part of specifications grading is that students can correct mistakes in a revision and not be penalized for trying something new. This enhances learning: we often learn most from our mistakes. 

• Connected Learning Outcomes 
• Assessment Structure 
• Rubrics and Grading 
• Class Management 

 

References:  

Nilson, L. B., & Stanny, C. J. (2015). Specifications grading: restoring rigor, motivating students, and saving faculty time. Stylus. 

Cox, J. (2020 Dec 3). Specs Grading – FCTL Winter 2020. YouTube. https://youtu.be/CqgpyXwQXLM ​ ​​ 

Quinones, M. P. (2021 January 3). Specifications grading. YouTube. https://youtu.be/3EEE8VLrBjc ​ 

Contract grading can be teacher structured or negotiated between teacher and an individual student or the whole class. Contracts outline the activities or tasks to be completed for a particular final letter grade. Final “A” grades often require additional quality work.  

Once contracts are established, students have a very clear idea of what is required for the grade they want. Students are allowed to revise their work and renegotiate contracts. Grading is based on the labor expended and emphasizes progress over product.  

 Here is an example of an “A” contract from Ryan Cordell, University of Illinois. 

 “A” Contract 

To contract for an “A” in this course, you agree to: 

1. Earn “Satisfactory” on all class preparation fieldbook entries save two, meaning you could: miss up to two classes, skip writing up to two class preparation entries, earn “Unsatisfactory” on up to two class preparation entries, or some combination of these conditions.
2. Take no more than one information overload day during the semester.
3. Exceed expectations regarding in-class device according to the policies outlined in the device use rubric.
4. Write at least 9 “Satisfactory” lab report fieldbook entries over the course of the semester. As specified in the fieldbook assignment, lab reports are due within one week of the pertinent laboratory activity.
5. Complete two “Satisfactory” Unessays on a schedule you will specify in your contract. 

Cordell, R. (2019, December 7). How I contact grade. ryancordell.org https://ryancordell.org/teaching/contract-grading/  

Cordell, R. (2019, January 18). Assignments. ryancordell.org https://s19tot.ryancordell.org/assignments/  

Contract grading removes the subjectivity often entrenched in traditional grading and makes grading very transparent.  

For example, Kevin DePew, Associate Professor, Department of English at Old Dominion University in Norfolk Virginia grades his student weekly entries as follows: 

• MICE: Missing, Incomplete, Complete, Extra 

• Missing: No submission 
• Incomplete: Lacks specified criteria 
• Complete: Attends to ALL specified criteria 
• Extra: Responds to instructor questions and end comments, posts questions and responds to peers. 

 Note that the writing is not graded but rather the labor or effort expended.  

Finley-Croswhite, A., O’Toole, J., Matheson, K., DePew K. (2021 October). Making the pitch for contract grading. Center for Faculty Development News. https://www.odu.edu/facultydevelopment/news/2021/10/making_the_pitch_for  

Un-grading is a process of evaluating students' work, offering feedback, and allowing the student to revise.  Eventually, 'lesser' performance (as determined by students, peers, and teachers) is replaced by better work, but without the grades. In the end, students select their final grade with justification of their learning and teacher oversight. 

Heick, T. (2020, February). 12 Alternatives to letter grades in education. TeachThought.com. https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/alternatives-to-letter-grades/ 

Un-grading can be facilitated through a variety of alternative forms of assessment as suggested by Jesse Stommel (2021): 

• Minimal Grading: Using scales with fewer gradations to make grading "simpler, fairer, clearer."
• Contract Grading: Unlike a clearly outlined syllabus, contracts convey expectations about what is required for each potential final grade. Students actively participate in receiving and/or negotiating their contracts within the scope of the course outcomes. Students work toward the grade they want to achieve, and goalposts don't shift unexpectedly. 
• Authentic Assessment: Having students write for real-world audiences, focusing on intrinsic motivations, and drawing students into the design of assignments/assessments.
• Process Letters (Reflections): Asking Students to reflect on their work and offering feedback on those reflections. Students help guide the grading of their own work.
• Reflections may be a new experience for many students. Reflections ask students to think critically about an experience. Process Letters, in this sense, are reflections students engage in after completing an academic project. They raise the metacognitive level of students in that they must consider their thinking processes and apply them to the tasks recently completed. 
• This Reflection Template from University of South Florida, among others, outlines the steps one might consider in a reflective assignment. It can be adapted to your course requirements. 

University of South Florida. (n.d.). Reflection template: DEAL model for critical reflection.https://www.usf.edu/engagement/documents/reflection.pdf     

 

An example such as the following course assessment statement, based on one written by Jesse Stommel, can acclimatize students to your grading methodology and rationale and ease anxiety of students who may be hyper-focused on grades. It is very important to communicate your alternative grading strategies with students. 

This course will focus on qualitative rather than quantitative assessment, something we'll discuss during the class, both with reference to your own work and the works we study.  Although you will get a final grade at the end of the term, I will not be grading individual assignments but will instead ask questions and make comments that engage your work rather than simply evaluate it.  You will also reflect carefully on your own work and the work of your peers.  The intention is to help you focus on working in a more organic way, as opposed to working as you think you're expected to.  If this process causes more anxiety than it alleviates, see me at any point to discuss your progress in the course to date.  If you are worried about your grade, your best strategy is to join the discussions, do the readings, and complete the assignments. You should consider this course a 'busy-work-free zone.' If an assignment does not feel productive, we will find ways to modify, remix, or repurpose the instructions. 

Stommel’s belief that “students are complex and deeply committed to their education is fueled by the thousands of self-reflection letters [he has] read throughout [his] career. What happens with almost every single student is that any assumption [he] might make about them is squashed by what they write about themselves and their work."   

Stommel suggest four things you can do tomorrow to start un-grading: 

• Change how you talk about assessment 
• Invite students to a conversation about grades 
• Grade less stuff, grade less often, grade more simply 

• Ask students to reflect on their own learning 

Stommel, J. (2021, June 21). Ungrading: an introduction. Jessestommel.com. https://www.jessestommel.com/ungrading-an-introduction