Specifications Grading 2.0: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, Saving Faculty Time, and Developing Career Competencies

This second edition of the alternative grading classic revisits specs grading with a robust body of research, exemplars, and strategies to elevate the quality of student work, increase engagement and buy-in, reduce faculty stress, and cultivate students' career competencies.

Nilson and Packowski present the unique characteristics of the specs grading schema, all of which simplify faculty decision making, reduce antagonism between the evaluator and the evaluated, and increase student receptivity to meaningful feedback, thus facilitating a mutually beneficial, rigorous learning process. Used consistently over time, specs grading can restore credibility to grades by demonstrating and making transparent to all stakeholders the learning outcomes that students achieve.

This book features five new chapters stemming from firsthand accounts of dozens of instructors actively using specs grading and new material in six of the remaining eight chapters. It lays out the surprisingly simple transition process, positioning specs grading as the most viable and easy-to-use system available to faculty.

Linda B. Nilson, Ph.D., is Founding Director Emerita of the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation at Clemson University, USA.

Joseph A. Packowski is an award-winning educator who fosters empowerment and experiential learning, drawing on 25 years of workforce and corporate recruiting experience.