Can assessment be kind? A conversation about a pedagogy of kindness and specifications grading

Abstract

This paper explores specifications grading as a practical application of a pedagogy of kindness within post-secondary education. Drawing on our SoTL conversation, we—as a university professor (Tai) and a student leader (Steven)—connect Eyler’s (2024) distinction between judgment-oriented evaluation and feedback-oriented assessment to emerging scholarship on the pedagogy of kindness (Denial, 2024; Stephens, 2023). Through this conversation, we consider how traditional grading practices frequently undermine two foundational elements of a pedagogy of kindness: clarity and learning support.

Specifications grading offers an alternative model by clearly defining expectations, providing opportunities for revision, and emphasizing learning over point accumulation (Nilson, 2014). Our dialogue illustrates how this approach fosters transparency, reduces anxiety, and supports deeper engagement.

From the student perspective, the approach fostered creativity, autonomy, and real-world engagement, culminating in the design of a campus-wide Kindness Week. From the instructor perspective, it supported iterative, authentic learning, while reducing grading ambiguity and enabling more meaningful feedback loops. Together, these perspectives position specifications grading as a system that supports academic quality while cultivating agency, resilience, and connection for both students and instructors.