Amy B. Shuffelton
This article offers a philosophical defense of ungrading, one of a family of alternative assessments that seek to counteract the demotivating effects of conventional grading practices. Mobilizing literature on teaching by Philip Jackson, Gert Biesta and Christopher Higgins, it argues that conventional grades are demoralizing as well as demotivating. While most defenses of ungrading rely on historical and psychological evidence in combination with practical experience, this article adds to the conversation about reforming classroom assessments a philosophical account of ungrading’s potentially liberatory and formative ends. To this special issue on formative higher education, it offers a close consideration of the nitty-gritty of one quotidian classroom practice—grading—that too often interferes with formative ambitions.