Lisa Wennerth interviews Juuso Nieminen, whose research focuses on the student perspective in assessment, and particularly how assessment shapes students’ identities in higher education and beyond. By entering into assessment partnerships with students, can teachers disrupt the usual power relations of grading and foster student empowerment?

The evaluative gaze of school is so constant a presence, so all-pervasive an eye, that many people have come to believe that children would actually not develop without it. But an oak tree does not require your opinion to grow, and believe it or not, 90% of the time, neither does a child.

In this episode of TG2Chat Live! we learn more about metacognition and student reflection from Rachael.

Teachers are often concerned about going gradeless in an AP classroom because the classroom context is inherently tied to content more than learning skills. My lived experience says otherwise.

In her transition to a gradeless math class, Lauren Thurber wondered: Were my eleven and twelve-year-old students ready for this responsibility?

Rachael Kettner-Thompson explains how she uses a Google Forms add-on to help students communicate a treasure trove of learning, providing timely information for parents and helpful feedback for teachers to improve their practice.

Many teachers are not in a position to go entirely gradeless, but there are still ways to “grow beyond grades.” Economics teacher Vanessa Ellis shares how she has shifted the focus toward feedback and growth, despite having to still enter grades.

Grades have never been good for communicating learning, but teachers who forgo them should make sure they aren’t leaving students, parents, and other caring adults in the dark. Arthur Chiaravalli shares his own approach to going gradeless.

Although we tout education theories like “inquiry-based learning” or having a “student-centered curriculum,” the reality is that students slowly lose their agency or any sense of control over their learning as they move through the ranks.