Regardless of whether we care about grades, they are still an obstacle we must address. Going gradeless requires that teachers be especially proactive and open in their communication. In addition to adopting instruction and assessment practices that are accessible and equitable, it is equally important we convey these approaches so they are easily understood by all interested parties.

While standards-based grading purports to put the focus squarely on learning, practitioners have noted how this is not always the reality. Arthur Chiaravalli points out the ways that SBG “has at times become a stumbling block, frustrating attempts to foster cooperation, accommodate complexity, and respond to the urgent issues of our day.”

As a graduate of the famously grade-free Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, Nate Bowling received narrative evaluations rather than grades. “My transcript,” Nate writes, “shows who I was as a student far better than any series of letter grades or GPA could dream of.”

Grading systems are remarkably resistant to rethinking given the vast infrastructure built up around our commonly-accepted approaches to grading. Barry Fishman recounts some of his encounters with both the institutional infrastructure, explaining how systemic inertia makes it difficult to give up the current system.

Carla Meyrink, co-founder and secondary director at The Community for Learning, explains how a biweekly Project Day has revolutionized her school by providing students with the freedom to explore and create, free from the pressure of grades. It has lowered stress levels, encouraged creativity, and provided opportunities for cross-curricular learning.

As a biology professor who has gone gradeless in favor of a labor-based approach, Greg Pask has moved away from exams entirely. Whether at the introductory or 300 level, he has found that tests don’t support the goals for his classroom. Greg describes the three major problems with closed-note timed exams, and explores alternative approaches that address these specific shortcomings.

Nate Bowling explains why we should displace the College Board from its outsized role in education. Draining billions of dollars from families and school districts across the United States, its exams function as gatekeepers to marginalized communities that would be much better off without it. The sooner we come to grips with that, the sooner we can decide if we want the power they have to remain in their hands.

Everyone, at some time or another, reaches a quit point—the moment when an individual’s productive energy toward a specific goal drops, causing withdrawal or minimized effort. With knowledge of quit point, teachers can meet students where they are, move them into more productive phases of the quit continuum, and engage all students to learn.

How do we move students from the appearance of engagement into something far more meaningful? Miriam Plotinsky argues that to “win the people,” we must include students in every stage of instruction, including what occurs before anyone sets foot in a classroom. When that happens, students access deeper levels of motivation, which, in turn, leads to more powerful learning experiences and growth.

Gameful learning is designing for learning. Barry Fishman asks us to consider how games might inspire our thinking about learning, reminding us that good games don’t work because they are fun; they work because they are challenging and engaging.

We may not be responsible for the inequities our students have faced before they met us, but they are in our care now—and we have agency over the state of equity in our classrooms. This systemic inequity is reason to not only question the status quo, but undo the harm associated with traditional assessment and teaching methods.

Assistant Professor of ELA Education, Karis Jones, shares tips and techniques for how teachers can align their assessment practices with Muhammad’s CHRE (Culturally & Historically Responsive Education) Framework: Identity, Skills, Intellect, Criticality, and Joy.