The Harms of Grading in Higher Education

This book examines the impacts of grading in higher education through comparative institutional ethnographies of two universities with radically different approaches to assessment.

The Harms of Grading reports the results of institutional ethnographies at University of the Bay, which has an assessment culture that emphasizes harsh grading and difficult exams, and Forest College, which does not give grades and emphasizes student self-assessment. Through the voices and perspectives of students and faculty, it explores the many harmful impacts of grading, such as the devastating effects grading has on learning and on student-teacher relationships, the culture of competition that grading creates, and the climate of stress created by high-stakes exams and “weeder” courses. The book introduces an innovative theoretical framework termed the “Grade Frame”—a series of misguided but ingrained beliefs about grading that provide the rationale for current assessment practices. Using Forest College's grade-free model as a compelling case, the book demonstrates that alternative assessment practices beyond the Grade Frame are not only possible but transformative.

Combining rigorous ethnographic research with practical guidance, this volume offers essential insights for higher education faculty, administrators, and researchers interested in assessment reform.