Why Do Ungrading?
Ungrading offers a range of intellectual, personal, and social benefits.
Intellectual Benefits
- Encourages a growth mindset that can help students take agency in their learning
- Removes the threat of “getting it wrong” or getting a “bad grade,” thus freeing students to take more risks and engage in more creative thinking
- Studies show that students tend to do more and higher-quality work in an ungrading system than they do in a traditionally graded system
Personal Benefits
- Reduces grade-related stress and encourages greater internal motivation, promoting student well-being
- Places greater responsibility on students for recognizing the quality and value of their learning, particularly when self-evaluation or peer-evaluation are involved
- Separates grades from students’ notions of self-worth and identity; without grades, they are no longer an “A student” or a “C student,” allowing students to develop healthier bases for their self-esteem and motivation
Social Benefits
- Helps to offset inequities among students arising from socioeconomic, racial, gender, and other social forms of difference
- Reduces competitiveness among students, improving classroom climate and facilitating more mutually supportive classroom communities
- Highlights the power dynamics involved in any assessment system, and can foster dialogue about what makes a grading system just or unjust