Specifications grading is a system of student assessment described by Linda Nilson in her newest book, “Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time”. In specs grading, assessments are aligned with learning outcomes and implemented using bundles of assignments that are graded pass/fail, and students choose the grade they wish to attain and select the bundles accordingly. For more background, see the links at the end of this post.
In this hangout, +Theron Hitchman of the University of Northern Iowa and I will be talking specs grading and its potential use in university mathematics courses. TJ and I just finished reading the book and so we are not experts in this — the discussion is for hammering out thoughts and airing out ideas. Hope to see you there.
In case it’s not clear, the hangout is on Thursday, December 4 at 3pm Eastern.
More background:
+ Article on specs grading: https://www.utimes.pitt.edu/?p=30598
+ Interview with Linda Nilson: https://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2014/11/25/41-interview-linda-nilson/
+ Link to her book: https://amzn.com/1620362422