I made an announcement on Twitter the other day that I believe I have figured out how to translate the work I did on grading and assessment for my dissertation into a book. I will definitely be doing more research because I want this book to be practical. I want it to be the book I wish I’d had when I started teaching and knew nothing about grading and assessment aside from my own experiences of it. I perpetuated a lot of the bad grading and assessment practices I experienced as a student until I knew better. I know I still have room to learn and grow, but I’m really excited to start this journey, and I hope it helps teachers.

My approach will not be how to eliminate grading. We already know grading is problematic. It’s an extrinsic motivator at best, and it’s soul-crushing at worst. I also think a lot of teachers do not have the option to just eliminate grades. While many schools have established better systems for evaluating student work, most teachers have to work within the system. I am hoping my book will offer advice for how to do that.

I’m still taking notes at this stage, and if you have any thoughts about topics you’d like to see addressed in the book, feel free to chime in with a comment.

Let’s get started.