If you're wondering about benefits or pitfalls of extra credit, consider these situations and reflection questions. Feel free to add your own in the comments below.

This episode features an interview with Patty McGee, author of the book Feedback That Moves Writers Forward.

It’s not about grades. It’s about learning. We need to take grades out of the equation. Forcing students to jump through our hoops doesn’t cut it. We need to meet them where they are. Grades, schmades.

Eliminating toxic grading practices, going gradeless, even providing effective feedback—none of this says much about what we plan to plant. And if we think this isn’t contested ground, we’re kidding ourselves.

Wherever you fall on the love-hate continuum of grammar, we can all probably find common ground in at least one belief: writing loses power without the strong, intentional use of grammar.

My procrastination gave me the gift of a new perspective. It helped remind me to question the status quo, to fight against things that aren’t in the best interest of my students and myself, and to not be afraid to take the road less traveled.

When my primary tool was a grade book, I focused on grades. Versatile tools like Google Keep enable teachers to create, organize, collaborate, and share, which better facilitate a gradeless, student-centered approach.

Going gradeless does not mean we have to abandon quantitative data. But the way we collect and display data to improve instruction does not have to be the same way we display and communicate data with students and their families.

More and more I’ve been asking myself: just what is “the game” in schools? Who are its winners and losers? And how does it affect our students, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized?

Many of us think about the relationships we could develop and the authentic learning students could engage in if only we removed could grades. Christopher Riesbeck explains how the gradeless classroom can be more than an "if only..." fantasy.

After years of providing feedback, I had truly become an expert in writing criteria. The problem was my students hadn't gained that same expertise.

We need to examine the cultures we create, analyze our walk and talk, and ask ourselves how we want our kids to feel when they enter our rooms. And if in our examination we discover that things are out of sync with that vision, then we have to adjust.