Hacking Assessment: 10 Ways to Go Gradeless in a Traditional Grades School (Hack Learning Series Volume 3)

Hacking Assessment: 10 Ways to Go Gradeless in a Traditional Grades School (Hack Learning Series Volume 3) Starr Sackstein. Times 10 Publications, 2015.

The words going gradeless may be music to many English teachers' ears; the phrase hints at relief from countless weekend and evening hours spent poring over student writing. While I personally enjoy reading student work, I am far less excited about assigning it a number or letter and fielding questions about why I took points off. While the idea of throwing away the current system of grading may cause anxiety, Starr Sackstein's Hacking Assessment: 10 Ways to Go Gradeless in a Traditional Grades School not only makes the theoretical case for change, but it honestly assesses the problems associated with implementing a new system for feedback. Although slim, Sackstein's no-nonsense book offers comprehensive and practical information to wean students and communities from defining achievement through grades.

Although going gradeless clearly has benefits for teachers, at the heart of Sackstein's book is a sincere focus on creating a better system for...