Alt-Grading References

Allen, J. D. (2005). Grades as Valid Measures of Academic Achievement of Classroom Learning. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 78(5), 218-223. https://doi.org/10.3200/TCHS.78.5.218-223

Anderman, E. M., & Koenka, A. C. (2017). The Relation Between Academic Motivation and Cheating. Theory Into Practice, 56(2), 95-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2017.1308172

Asher, M. W., Hartman, J. D., Blaser, M., Eichler, J. F., & Carvalho, P. F. (2025). The promise of mastery-based testing for promoting student engagement, self-regulated learning, and performance in gateway STEM courses. Computers & Education, 237, 105387. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105387

Beatty, I. D. (2013). Standards-Based Grading in Introductory University Physics. The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(2), 1-22. 

Blackstone, B., & Oldmixon, E. (2019). Specifications Grading in Political Science. Journal of Political Science Education, 15(2), 191-205. https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2018.1447948

Bloom, B. S. (1968). Learning for Mastery: Instruction and Curriculum [Topical Paper]. Evaluation Comment, 1(2), 1-11.  

Bowen, R. S., & Cooper, M. M. (2022). Grading on a Curve as a Systemic Issue of Equity in Chemistry Education. Journal of Chemical Education, 99(1), 185-194. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00369

Bruno, B., Engels, J., Ito, G., Gillis-Davis, J., Dulai, H., Carter, G.,…Böttjer-Wilson, D. (2017). Two-Stage Exams: A Powerful Tool for Reducing the Achievement Gap in Undergraduate Oceanography and Geology Classes. Oceanography, 30(2). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2017.241

Butler, M. (2025). Alternative grading systems and student outcomes: a comparative analysis of motivation, enjoyment, engagement, stress, and perceptions of final grades. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 50(5), 807-817. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2025.2475068

Callaghan, K., Milbourne, T., Klales, A., Kestin, G., Arguelles, C., Mccarty, L., & Deslauriers, L. (2026). Two-Stage Final Exams: An Assessment Strategy for Enhanced Collaborative Learning and Reduced Student Stress. Journal of College Science Teaching, 55(2), 115-124. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/0047231X.2026.2620442

Carlisle, S. (2020). Simple Specifications Grading. PRIMUS, 30(8-10), 926-951. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2019.1695238

Cilli-Turner, E., Dunmyre, J., Mahoney, T., & Wiley, C. (2020). Mastery Grading: Build-A-Syllabus Workshop. PRIMUS, 30(8-10), 952-978. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2020.1733152

Donahoe, E. P. (2026, Sept 1). Three Grade-Related Responses to the Educational Polycrisis. Unmaking the Grade. https://emilypittsdonahoe.substack.com/p/three-grade-related-responses-to

Elkington, S., & Chesterton, P. (2025). Embedding assessment flexibilities for future authentic learning. Teaching in higher education., 30(3), 700-716. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2024.2394605

Fernandez, O. E. (2021). Second Chance Grading: An Equitable, Meaningful, and Easy-to-Implement Grading System that Synergizes the Research on Testing for Learning, Mastery Grading, and Growth Mindsets. PRIMUS, 31(8), 855-868. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2020.1772915

Firth, J., Rivers, I., & Boyle, J. (2021). A systematic review of interleaving as a concept learning strategy. Review of Education, 9(2), 642-684. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3266

Frate, S. D., & Rote, A. E. (2026). Oral Examinations as an Alternative to Written Exams in Health Sciences Education: A Targeted Response to AI Challenges. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 12(3), 203-208. https://doi.org/10.1177/23733799261416471

Guberman, D. (2021). Student Perceptions of an Online Ungraded Course. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 9(1), 86-98. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.9.1.8

Hackerson, E. L., Slominski, T., Johnson, N., Buncher, J. B., Ismael, S., Singelmann, L.,…Momsen, J. L. (2024). Alternative Grading Practices in Undergraduate STEM Education: A Scoping Review. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 6(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-024-00106-8

Hartman, J. D., & Eichler, J. F. (2024). Implementing Mastery Grading in Large Enrollment General Chemistry: Improving Outcomes and Reducing Equity Gaps. Education Sciences, 14(11), 1224. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14111224

Heubach, S., & Krinsky, S. (2020). Implementing Mastery-Based Grading at Scale in Introductory Statistics. PRIMUS, 30(8-10), 1054-1070. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2019.1700576

Howard, J. L., Bureau, J., Guay, F., Chong, J. X. Y., & Ryan, R. M. (2021). Student Motivation and Associated Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis From Self-Determination Theory. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(6), 1300-1323. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620966789

Howitz, W. J., McKnelly, K. J., & Link, R. D. (2025). Delving into the Design and Implementation of Specifications Grading Systems in Higher Education. Education Science (Basel), 15, 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15010083

Jones, P. A. (2020). Implementing specifications grading in MPA courses: A potential strategy for better work-life balance. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 26(4), 531-547. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2020.1773713

Karcher, E., Guberman, D., Bonem, E., & Lumkes, J. (2022). Instructor Perception of Incorporating Active Learning in College of Agriculture Classrooms. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 10. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.10.36

Knierim, K., Turner, H., & Davis, R. K. (2015). Two-Stage Exams Improve Student Learning in an Introductory Geology Course: Logistics, Attendance, and Grades. Journal of Geoscience Education, 63(2), 157-164. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.5408/14-051.1

Koretsky, M. D., Mccolley, C. J., Gugel, J. L., & Ekstedt, T. W. (2022). Aligning Classroom Assessment with Engineering Practice: A Design‐based Research Study of a Two‐Stage Exam with Authentic Assessment. Journal of Engineering Education,111(1), 185-213. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jee.20436

Lee, C. (2020, 14 October). What Is the History of Grading? https://www.turnitin.com/blog/what-is-the-history-of-grading

Lewis, D. (2020). Student Anxiety in Standards-Based Grading in Mathematics Courses. Innovative Higher Education, 45, 153-164. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-019-09489-3

Lewis, D. (2022). Impacts of Standards-Based Grading on Students’ Mindset and Test Anxiety. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 22(2), 67-77. https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v22i2.31308

Link, R. (2026, May 20-21). Specifications Grading Primer [Handout]. SEISMIC Phase Two Kick-Off, Ann Arbor, MI. 

McMurtrie, B. (2026, 29 July). Teaching: Is it Time to Change How You Grade? https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/teaching/2026-07-23

McMurtrie, B. (2026, 9 Sept). The Return of the Oral Exam. https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-return-of-the-oral-exam

Meaders, C. L., & Vega, Y. (2023). Collaborative Two-Stage Exams Benefit Students in a Biology Laboratory Course. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 24(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00138-22

Morphew, J. W., Silva, M., Herman, G., & West, M. (2020). Frequent mastery testing with second-chance exams leads to enhanced student learning in undergraduate engineering. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 34(1), 168-181. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3605

Nicol, D., & Selvaretnam, G. (2022). Making Internal Feedback Explicit: Harnessing the Comparisons Students Make During Two-Stage Exams. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 47(4), 507-522. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1934653

Nieminen, J. H. (2022). Disrupting the Power Relations of Grading in Higher Education through Summative Self-Assessment. Teaching in Higher Education, 27(7), 892-907. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1753687

Pease, M. (2025). Alternative assessment methods in action: a case history of using specification-based grading in college geography courses. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 49(4), 532-542. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2025.2529825

Pennebaker, J. W., Gosling, S. D., & Ferrell, J. D. (2013). Daily Online Testing in Large Classes: Boosting College Performance while Reducing Achievement Gaps. PLOS ONE, 8(11), e79774. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079774

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101860. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860

Shaffer, J. F. (2020). Student Performance on and Perceptions of Collaborative Two-Stage Exams in a Material and Energy Balances Course. Chemical Engineering Education, 54(2). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.18260/2-1-370.660-115564

Streifer, A. C., & Palmer, M. S. (2023). Is Specifications Grading Right for Me?: A Readiness Assessment to Help Instructors Decide. College Teaching, 71(4), 244-251. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2021.2018396

Tripp, B., Ravi, A., Pang, E., & Furrow, R. E. (2025). Undergraduate STEM Students’ Perceptions of Grading Practices Reveal that Quiz Retakes Positively Impact Drivers of Self-determination. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 24(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.24-06-0167

Yik, B. J., Machost, H., Streifer, A. C., Palmer, M. S., Morkowchuk, L., & Stains, M. (2024). Students’ Perceptions of Specifications Grading: Development and Evaluation of the Perceptions of Grading Schemes (PGS) Instrument. Journal of Chemical Education, 101(9), 3723-3738. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00698