Implementing Alternative Assessment Practices
This article covers the practicalities of implementing alternative assessment practices in a composition classroom, along with examples of activities and assignments.
By Grace Walraven
Classroom Practices
The First Day of Ungrading
There will likely be a range of responses when an instructor announces that a class will be ungraded and that students are being trusted to understand their own learning processes.
Vulnerability
Some students may feel vulnerable or insecure outside of “normative” grading standards.
Uncertainty
Some may worry that they will not know how to measure learning, growth, and progress without external validation from the instructor.
Relief
Others may feel relieved because grades have been a source of diminishment or anxiety in the past.
Begin with What Students Already Know
Regardless of how students react to ungrading, Hadley J. Ferguson offers a useful place to begin.
"After introducing the idea of a class without grades, I knew it was time to show them that they already knew a lot more about themselves as students and learners, more than they were usually given a chance to say." (Ferguson 211)
Ferguson then describes a “Bank Robbery” activity designed for history courses. The activity asks students to practice “two important history skills: asking questions and making categories” (Ferguson 211). Because Ferguson uses an activity tailored to history, I propose a different activity better suited to composition and rhetoric.
Critical and Creative Captioning
Assignment
Create a social media post using one of the provided images and write a caption for it.
Suggested Setup:
This activity could be completed in a shared Google Slides presentation, with one provided image on each slide and a text box beside or beneath it.
Group Setup
Divide students into groups of three or four. Each group will need access to a computer.
Create the Post
Using one of the provided images, each group will create a social media post and write a caption to accompany it.
Share with the Class
After the students create their social media posts, display each post and caption for the class.
Reflecting on the Process
After the students create their social media posts, show each post and caption to the class. As a class, ask students to reflect on the following questions:
Process
How did your group create its social media post? What did the process look like?
Skills
What skills did you use, individually and as a group, to create the social media post?
Challenge
What was challenging about writing the caption or creating the social media post?
Revision
What would you do differently if you completed the activity again?
Students Already Possess the Skills of Writers
This activity asks students to consider how captioning functions rhetorically and how it depends on audience, context, and purpose. It also demonstrates from the beginning that students already possess many of the skills required of writers.
Brainstorming
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Drafting
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Revising
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Finalizing
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Recognizing Their Own Abilities
The activity is meant to be an enjoyable exercise that gives students confidence that they possess the skills necessary to assess themselves.
Feedback Still Matters
This does not mean that the instructor will no longer provide feedback. Instead, students begin to recognize that they can gauge their own learning in a composition course without relying only on grades.
Metacognitive Activities
One-Minute Papers
Narrative Self-Evaluations
One-Minute Papers
At the end of each class, ask students to submit a discussion-board post or add an entry to a running reflection document that answers at least one of the following questions:
01 · Big Idea
What is one big idea or new insight you have taken from today’s class?
02 · Still Unclear
What is still confusing to you?
Narrative Self-Evaluations
Austin Bailey and Caroline Wilkinson propose Narrative Self-Evaluations, or NSEs. These informal writing assignments are approximately one to two pages in length and ask students to discuss their educational goals, interests, and histories while making connections between the class and their identities as learners. A series of basic questions prompts narrative-based metacognitive reflection and self-evaluation (Bailey and Wilkinson 18–19).
Informal narrative reflection
Educational Goals
Interests and Histories
Identity as a Learner
Narrative Self-Evaluation in Practice
Bailey’s Approach
Bailey uses two Narrative Self-Evaluations: one at midterm and one at the end of the term (Bailey and Wilkinson 19).
Wilkinson’s Approach
Wilkinson uses three Narrative Self-Evaluations, with one following each major assignment (Bailey and Wilkinson 21).
Selected Questions from Bailey’s Midterm Prompt
Bailey uses two Narrative Self-Evaluations: one at midterm and one at the end of the term. His midterm prompt asks students to reflect holistically on their identities as learners, their educational goals, their course progress, and the grade they believe represents that progress (Bailey and Wilkinson 19).
Timing: Midterm
Length: 1–2 pages
Format: Holistic narrative
01
Student Identity
Who are you as a student?
02
Educational Purpose
Why are you in college, and what are you interested in achieving through your degree?
03
Course Connection
How might this class fit into your broader educational goals?
04
Course Goals
What are some of your specific goals for this class?
05
Looking Ahead
What would you like to accomplish during the remainder of the semester?
06
Self-Assessment
Based on your reflection and the work you have completed, what overall course grade do you think you have earned at this point?
Wilkinson’s Complete Reflection Questions
Wilkinson’s prompt asks students to respond to the following questions:
Writing Experience
How was your experience writing this paper? Did you have a clear understanding of what you wanted to write or did it take some time to know?
Comparison
How did this writing process compare to the other two papers? Which paper did you find easier to write and why?
Easiest Part
What was the easiest part about writing this paper?
(This can be anything from knowing what the theme is you wanted to write on, to finding the sources, to grammar.)
Greatest Challenge
What was the hardest part about writing this paper?
(This can be anything from knowing what the theme is you wanted to write on, to finding the sources, to grammar.)
Self-Assessment
Since grades must be assigned for this course, you are asked to assign yourself a tentative grade on this paper. Why are you choosing this grade?
(Bailey and Wilkinson 21)
Feedback and Self-Assessment Can Work Together
This does not mean that an instructor will not provide feedback. Instead, students can gauge their own learning in a composition course without relying only on grades.
Works Cited
Bailey, Austin, and Caroline Wilkinson. “Ungrading the Composition Classroom.” Journal of Basic Writing, vol. 42, no. 2, 2023, JSTOR, pp. 6–34.
FERGUSON, HADLEY J. “CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Journey into Ungrading.” Counterpoints, vol. 492, 2016, JSTOR, pp. 207–22.
Read Grace’s Complete Article
Read the complete long-form version of Implementing Alternative Assessment Practices, including the full Bailey and Wilkinson prompts, MLA citations, and Works Cited.
Return to the Series
Revisit the complete three-part series, from the foundations of disability studies to alternative assessment methods and classroom practice.