166 - How Do We Make Grading Reform Stick? The Five P's

With grading reform receiving increasing attention across both K–12 and higher education, how do we turn growing interest into change that actually lasts? In this episode, Sharona and Boz explore The Five Ps of Starting and Sustaining Grading Reform, a framework developed by Matt Townsley and colleagues for moving grading reform beyond the work of individual educators and toward broader institutional change. Organized around people, purpose, policies, pace, and persistence, the framework provides a starting point for thinking about who needs to be involved, how a community develops a shared reason for changing its grading practices, what kinds of institutional guardrails can support rather than prescribe practice, and how change might unfold over time.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

The Five Ps of Starting and Sustaining Grading ReformWhile other schools weigh grading reforms, Princeton remains silentBananaland University

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

The Grading for Growth BlogThe Grading ConferenceThe Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David ClarkSpecifications Grading, by Linda NilsenUndoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.