Leveraging alternative assessment for open pedagogy and open science

<p>As open pedagogy and open science are gaining wider adoption in undergraduate education, there is an emerging need to understand how grading practices intersect with these philosophies.  This article, aimed at both practitioners and scholars, presents a brief introduction to alternative grading and argues that it is aligned with the values of both open pedagogy and open science.  We explore how shared practices among alternative grading systems support instructors in implementing open pedagogy and open science in their classrooms, and also delve into the affordances and limitations of the most popular flavors of alternative grading, namely standards-based grading, specifications grading, and collaborative grading.</p> <h3>Introductory video:</h3> <p>[[Youtube(vrdEyZsiw8k, 50%)]]</p> <hr /> <p>Please visit the <a href="https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/octopus">OCTOPUS Group page</a> for additional information and other curriculum resources.</p> <p>OCTOPUS was generously supported by the <a href="https://www.orcaopen.org/" target="_blank">Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA)</a> with additional support from the <a href="https://bioquest.org" target="_blank">BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium</a>.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/octopus"><img alt="OCTOPUS logo" src="https://qubeshub.org/groups/octopus/File:/uploads/images/octopus_logo.png" style="height: 70px; width: 100px;" /></a>    <a href="https://www.orcaopen.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="ORCA logo" src="https://qubeshub.org/groups/octopus/File:/uploads/images/ORCA_logo.png" style="height: 100px; width: 100px;" /></a>    <a href="https://bioquest.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="BioQUEST logo" src="https://qubeshub.org/groups/octopus/File:/uploads/images/BQ_logo.png" style="height: 41px; width: 150px;" /></a></p>

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
QUBES
Published
2026-01-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25334/8f68-rb59
Primary Topic
Student Assessment and Feedback
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Leveraging alternative assessment for open pedagogy and open science

Drew Lewis
QUBES
Student Assessment and Feedback
article

Leveraging alternative assessment for open pedagogy and open science

Drew Lewis
article en

Abstract

<p>As open pedagogy and open science are gaining wider adoption in undergraduate education, there is an emerging need to understand how grading practices intersect with these philosophies.  This article, aimed at both practitioners and scholars, presents a brief introduction to alternative grading and argues that it is aligned with the values of both open pedagogy and open science.  We explore how shared practices among alternative grading systems support instructors in implementing open pedagogy and open science in their classrooms, and also delve into the affordances and limitations of the most popular flavors of alternative grading, namely standards-based grading, specifications grading, and collaborative grading.</p> <h3>Introductory video:</h3> <p>[[Youtube(vrdEyZsiw8k, 50%)]]</p> <hr /> <p>Please visit the <a href="https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/octopus">OCTOPUS Group page</a> for additional information and other curriculum resources.</p> <p>OCTOPUS was generously supported by the <a href="https://www.orcaopen.org/" target="_blank">Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA)</a> with additional support from the <a href="https://bioquest.org" target="_blank">BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium</a>.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/octopus"><img alt="OCTOPUS logo" src="https://qubeshub.org/groups/octopus/File:/uploads/images/octopus_logo.png" style="height: 70px; width: 100px;" /></a>    <a href="https://www.orcaopen.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="ORCA logo" src="https://qubeshub.org/groups/octopus/File:/uploads/images/ORCA_logo.png" style="height: 100px; width: 100px;" /></a>    <a href="https://bioquest.org/" target="_blank"><img alt="BioQUEST logo" src="https://qubeshub.org/groups/octopus/File:/uploads/images/BQ_logo.png" style="height: 41px; width: 150px;" /></a></p>

QUBES
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 80%
Student Assessment and Feedback
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Leveraging alternative assessment for open pedagogy and open science — Drew Lewis · QUBES (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS