I did a deep dive into research on grading practices, looking at how different systems impact students - from motivation and mental health to equity and learning outcomes. I also looked at how educators are already experimenting with different approaches: feedback-centered assessment, mastery-based grading, and competency frameworks. This phase helped me understand the complexity of the issue and also gave me hope that change is already happening in small ways.

Using the Three Horizons framework, I mapped out how the system could evolve:

Horizon 1: The current state - grades as a sorting tool, often high-stakes and rigid

Horizon 2: Emerging changes - feedback-driven classrooms, growing awareness of equity

Horizon 3: A long-term shift - systems that prioritize growth, student agency, and reflective learning

This wasn’t about predicting the future, but imagining possibilities. What might become possible if we center learning - not ranking - in our assessment systems?

Key takeaways:

• Grading systems impact more than just final transcripts - they shape how students see themselves as learners

• Feedback, if done well, can foster reflection, ownership, and deeper engagement

• Mastery-based and competency-based approaches allow for pacing, revision, and growth

• Change requires more than good ideas - it needs institutional support, faculty development, and cultural shift

Reflection:

This project made me realize how powerful (and sometimes invisible) systems can be in shaping how we learn.

I don’t think there’s a single perfect model for assessment - but I do believe we can design better systems. Systems that are more human, more reflective, and more supportive of the messy, nonlinear process of learning.

This project let me bring together research and design - and that’s something I want to keep doing.

Read the full paper: