Specifications Grading | The Complete Infographic Guide
This alternative has been making waves for its revolutionary philosophy. How does it really work?
In 2016, Linda B. Nilson wrote about a grading method named Specifications Grading that she had used in her own courses. She argued that it increased student motivation, improved their performance, reduced cheating, and didn’t really take too much extra time and effort on her part.
It seemed too good to be true but several instructors have written about their experiences with the method in the last few years, and first-hand reviews of its benefits continue to pile up. This blog post summarises how the method works and, if you wanted to use it in your own course, how you could go about it.
Let’s start with the infographic, shall we?
Specifications Grading Guide | An Infographic
What’s wrong with the traditional grading system?
(If you’re a fan of the traditional grading system, we recommend giving this paragraph a skip 😅)
In the traditional method of grading, students receive a grade or score for all the work they do. An A+ for the lab report, an 8/10 for an assignment, a 3/5 for a project, and so on. The result?
- Negotiations: Students often come back and argue with instructors about the grade they earn
- No stress on mastery: Often, the overall course becomes a vessel to fill with points. Students think of the overall grade rather than giving the task their best. “I need at least 6/10 to keep my chances of getting a B+ alive” — sounds familiar?
- Student anxiety: Students start the semester with the goal of scoring an A, re-assess the goal after they see their first two assignment scores, then again after a mid-term exam, and so on. They often don’t know at the outset what it will take to actually get the score they need, thus the anxiety builds.
- Struggle to be fair: What’s the difference between a 9 and an 8? Instructors often struggle to compare work of similar quality.
What is Specifications Grading?
In Linda Nilson’s own words:
Imagine another grading system, one where you grade all assignments and tests satisfactory/unsatisfactory, pass/fail. Students earn all of the points associated with the work, or none of them, depending on whether their work meets the particular specifications you laid out for it. This is why I call this grading system specifications, or specs, grading.
Overall, the course can still follow the letter grading system
Universities still expect instructors to assign a letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) to students at the end of the term. Specifications Grading doesn’t ignore this reality. However, it changes the way you arrive at the grade.
How does it work?
Step 1: Identify all the grading components
What would you like students to earn credits for? Attendance, in-class participation, quizzes, assignments, projects, reports, labs, exams — put everything you want in there.
Step 2: Identify the subjective components
Typically, this would include projects, reports, assignments, labs.
Step 3: Punch out “Specifications” or expectations from the work
Go for tons of detail (recommended) or simplicity (easy but tricky). It’s up to you.
Specifications can be as simple as “Respond to all questions sincerely, and in good faith” or really detailed. For example, here’s a detailed specifications note used by Prof. Kay C Dee from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Step 4: Want to give more detailed feedback than “Pass / Fail”? Use EMRF instead
Two pieces of work that “Pass” are not necessarily of the same quality. The EMRF rubric described in the infographic above is a good way to differentiate between the quality of output and give feedback without caving in to the old ways of awarding points and grades (what is the “standard” meaning of an A+ anyway?)
Step 5: Also, give very detailed assignment feedback
A cornerstone of Specs Grading is the assignment feedback provided by instructors. Since the method eschews the traditional grading structure, Pass / Fail can seem arbitrary to students unless the instructor provides detailed reasoning for their assessment.
Step 6: Make “bundles” for the course rubric
A sample rubric is in the infographic above. Put together all the important components, assign cutoffs and create bundles of work that students need to complete to get a specific grade.
It takes some time, effort, and reading to get it right
Writing specs for assignments isn’t a trivial exercise. One of the purposes of Specifications Grading is to avoid debates and negotiations with students and the best way to do so is to be detailed and specific about your expectations.
Do you want students to show their calculations? Need them to narrate a personal experience? Need them to insert a comparison chart? Hate grammatical errors? Have a word limit? Want the code to be well commented? Need them to provide references accurately? Need them to answer specific questions? Specify everything in the instructions.
The more detailed your specs get, the more transparent grading becomes for students. Consequently, this reduces the window for debates and improves the quality of your students’ submissions.
Is Specifications Grading right for you?
Moving to a new grading paradigm is a major endeavour and it’s fair to ask if it’s right for you. Adriana C. Streifer & Michael S. Palmer addressed this very question in their paper (1) and did a comprehensive analysis that can help instructors answer this question.
This paper includes a 4-step assessment that we highly recommend to any instructor wondering if this will work for them.
- Reflect on and respond to institutional culture questions
- Review institutional culture factors, and revise reflection if necessary
- Reflect on how facets of your identity will shape your choices
- Identify your student, instructor, course, and curricular factors (shown in the image above)
Final word
If you’ve just recently become aware of Specifications Grading, or are considering getting started with it, you will do few things more helpful than read about the experiences of other instructors. A lot of instructors have written about their experiences, shared their course syllabuses, assignment rubrics, and more. There’s a wealth of information out there about the plusses and minuses. Let us know if you’d like us to share the stuff we’ve read 🙂
About us
Acadly is a student engagement and attendance automation platform for all kinds of classes — in-person, online, and hybrid. Online and Hybrid learning is powered by Zoom integration on Acadly.
Reference
(1) Adriana C. Streifer & Michael S. Palmer (2021) Is Specifications Grading Right for Me?: A Readiness Assessment to Help Instructors Decide, College Teaching, DOI: 10.1080/87567555.2021.2018396
