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Subject: Ungrading

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

Author(s):	Blum, S. D.
Date:	2020
Publication:	West Virginia University Press
Citation:	Blum, S. D. (2020). Ungrading Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead). West Virginia University Press. https://wvupressonline.com/node/844.

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:	Promoting reflexivity. Treating students as agentic co-educators. Building equity, trust, mutual respect, and support. Promoting cooperative learning.
Annotation:	The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen 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.

February 11, 2026

When Grading Less Is More

Author(s):	Flaherty, C.
Date:	2019
Publication:	Inside Higher Ed
Citation:	Flaherty, C. (2019). When Grading Less Is More. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/04/02/professors-reflections-their-experiences-ungrading-spark-renewed-interest-student.

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:	Promoting reflexivity. Treating students as agentic co-educators. Building equity, trust, mutual respect, and support. Using technology intentionally to build communities and enhance learning.
Annotation:	In this article, the author has compiled several professors’ reflections on implementing ungrading in their higher education classrooms. As these professors note, using this policy greatly improved learning and the students’ experiences as a whole. The downside to this, as noted by one professor, is the possibility for grade inflation. Though, as mentioned, this can easily be combatted through a variety of measures. Overall, this method – a blend of traditional grading and ungrading – has proven to be effective in the learning environment.

February 11, 2026

“It made me feel like it was okay to be wrong”: Student experiences with ungrading

Author(s):	Gorichanaz, T.
Date:	2022
Publication:	Active Learning in Higher Education
Citation:	Gorichanaz, T. (2022). “It made me feel like it was okay to be wrong”: Student experiences with ungrading. Active Learning in Higher Education, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14697874221093640

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:
Annotation:	An interpretive phenomenological analysis study of college students’ experiences with ungrading. In this study, ungrading is defined as a form of reflection-based self-evaluation. By following along with 8 students, researchers were able to denote 4 popular themes: de-gamification, time for reflection, rich communication, and a learning community.

February 11, 2026

Academe Has a Lot to Learn About How Inclusive Teaching Affects Instructors

Author(s):	Pittman, C. & Tobin, T. J.
Date:	2022
Publication:	The Chronicle of Higher Education
Citation:	Pittman, C., & Tobin, T. J. (2022). Academe Has a Lot to Learn About How Inclusive Teaching Affects Instructors. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/academe-has-a-lot-to-learn-about-how-inclusive-teaching-affects-instructors?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_3666147_nl_Academe-Today_date_20220208&cid=at&source=ams&sourceid=

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:	Treating students as agentic co-educators. Building equity, trust, mutual respect, and support.
Annotation:	This article examines the ways in which instructors without institutional or cultural authority are impacted by inclusive teaching practices. The article highlights how instructors without institutional or cultural authority may face additional resistence and incivility from students when implementing inclusive teaching practices. The article then goes on to recommend ways in which the benefits of inclusive teaching can be balanced with the inequalities faced by some instructors.

February 11, 2026

Committing to Ungrading, in an Emergency and After

Author(s):	Rosenblatt, A.
Date:	2020
Publication:	The Chronicle
Citation:	Rosenblatt, A. (2020). Committing to Ungrading, in an Emergency and After. The Chronicle, https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2020/03/duke-university-gradin-coronavirus-covid-19-public-health-crisis-emergency-thinking-ungrading-pass-fail.

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:	Using technology intentionally to build communities and enhance learning.
Annotation:	This article discusses the movement for a change in grading within higher education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, this article looks at how changing grading to pass/fail for a semester at Duke University benefited students. It is noted that this system greatly reduced inequality in the classroom, especially with the use of labor-based grading contracts. These contracts assign every assignment a point value and students are given full points on their assignment as long as it meets the minimum standards listed or are able to meet minimum standards after revision.

February 11, 2026

How to Ungrade

Author(s):	Stommel, J.
Date:	2018
Publication:
Citation:	Stommel, J. (2018). How to Ungrade. https://www.jessestommel.com/how-to-ungrade/.

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:	Using technology intentionally to build communities and enhance learning.
Annotation:	The author describes ungrading, its history, and how to practice this theory in the classroom. Grading began in the 1780s but was not widely used until the 1940s. As the author argues, a system adapted so recently can easily be dismantled. Other approaches to assessing students include grade free zones, self-assessment, process letters, minimal grading, authentic assessment, contract grading, portfolios, peer-assessment, and student-made rubrics.

February 11, 2026

Academe Has a Lot to Learn About How Inclusive Teaching Affects Instructors

Author(s):	Pittman, C. & Tobin, T. J.
Date:	2022
Publication:	The Chronicle of Higher Education
Citation:	Pittman, C., & Tobin, T. J. (2022). Academe Has a Lot to Learn About How Inclusive Teaching Affects Instructors. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/academe-has-a-lot-to-learn-about-how-inclusive-teaching-affects-instructors?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_3666147_nl_Academe-Today_date_20220208&cid=at&source=ams&sourceid=

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:	Treating students as agentic co-educators. Building equity, trust, mutual respect, and support.
Annotation:	This article examines the ways in which instructors without institutional or cultural authority are impacted by inclusive teaching practices. The article highlights how instructors without institutional or cultural authority may face additional resistence and incivility from students when implementing inclusive teaching practices. The article then goes on to recommend ways in which the benefits of inclusive teaching can be balanced with the inequalities faced by some instructors.

Committing to Ungrading, in an Emergency and After

Author(s):	Rosenblatt, A.
Date:	2020
Publication:	The Chronicle
Citation:	Rosenblatt, A. (2020). Committing to Ungrading, in an Emergency and After. The Chronicle, https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2020/03/duke-university-gradin-coronavirus-covid-19-public-health-crisis-emergency-thinking-ungrading-pass-fail.

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:	Using technology intentionally to build communities and enhance learning.
Annotation:	This article discusses the movement for a change in grading within higher education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, this article looks at how changing grading to pass/fail for a semester at Duke University benefited students. It is noted that this system greatly reduced inequality in the classroom, especially with the use of labor-based grading contracts. These contracts assign every assignment a point value and students are given full points on their assignment as long as it meets the minimum standards listed or are able to meet minimum standards after revision.

How to Ungrade

Author(s):	Stommel, J.
Date:	2018
Publication:
Citation:	Stommel, J. (2018). How to Ungrade. https://www.jessestommel.com/how-to-ungrade/.

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:	Using technology intentionally to build communities and enhance learning.
Annotation:	The author describes ungrading, its history, and how to practice this theory in the classroom. Grading began in the 1780s but was not widely used until the 1940s. As the author argues, a system adapted so recently can easily be dismantled. Other approaches to assessing students include grade free zones, self-assessment, process letters, minimal grading, authentic assessment, contract grading, portfolios, peer-assessment, and student-made rubrics.

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

Author(s):	Blum, S. D.
Date:	2020
Publication:	West Virginia University Press
Citation:	Blum, S. D. (2020). Ungrading Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead). West Virginia University Press. https://wvupressonline.com/node/844.

Section on webpage:	Ungrading
Tenets:	Promoting reflexivity. Treating students as agentic co-educators. Building equity, trust, mutual respect, and support. Promoting cooperative learning.
Annotation:	The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen 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.

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The Feminist Pedagogy Project © 2026 by Jacquelyne Thoni Howard, Clare Daniel, Liv Newman, Niya Bond, and Enilda Romero-Hall is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

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