Shifting Mindsets on Ungrading

The Teachers Going Gradeless (TG2) community presents ungrading as a fundamental mindset shift toward humanizing education by de-emphasizing competition, ranking, and sorting in favor of building relationships, fostering student agency, and focusing on individual growth. Rather than prescribing specific practices, ungrading represents an ongoing process of questioning traditional grading systems and engaging students as full agents in their own education.

"Ungrading is a present participle, an ongoing process not a static set of practices... ungrading is a systemic critique, a series of conversations we have about grades ideally drawing students into those conversations with the goal of engaging them as full agents in their own education." - Jesse Stommel

"It's more of a mindset... as long as we're trying to de-emphasize that ranking, sorting, competition... education is not about competition, it's about making the individual have skills and knowledge that they didn't have when they walked in the room."

"If we as educators wait until we have the perfect plan for implementing a gradeless classroom then we'll never do it... you figure it out as you go... we avoid the danger when we remain centered on our purpose."

• Ungrading is described as a mindset rather than specific practices. How might this philosophical approach differ from adopting particular assessment techniques? What makes a mindset shift more challenging than changing methods?
• What are the "baby steps" educators can take toward ungrading within existing systems? How might changing language about students, delaying grades, or providing descriptive feedback serve as entry points?
• How might traditional teacher-student power relationships need to change to support authentic ungrading practices? What specific ways can educators share power while maintaining appropriate boundaries and support?