Grading (or not grading) to support student learning

ALI Alumni and Friends 2025-26 event with Matt Townsley

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Date

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Time

4:30 pm - 6:00 pm

Location

Virtual
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session description:

Explore how intentional grading practices can enhance, rather than hinder, student learning in this interactive K-12 webinar. We’ll examine the powerful role of formative assessment as feedback-only and how to reserve grades for meaningful summative evidence of learning. Join us to rethink traditional grading approaches and discover strategies that support growth, clarity, and student ownership.

Guiding questions:

  • How can teachers provide students with feedback during learning without assigning a grade to everything
  • When should teachers assign a grade, and how can they ensure it accurately reflects what students know and can do?

Registration for the full series is $100 for ALI Alumni and $130 for all others. Registration for an individual session is $45 for ALI Alumni and $60 for all others.

Presenter: Matt Townsley

Matt Townsley has authored over 30 articles and books focused on grading including Making Grades Matter: Standards-Based Grading in a Secondary PLC at Work, Using Grading to Support Student Learning, and A Parents’ Guide to Grading and Reporting: Being Clear about What Matters. As a former district administrator and teacher in the Solon Community School District (Solon, IA), he has firsthand experience implementing and leading lasting grading reform. Through conferences, professional development and workshops, Dr. Townsley has consulted with teachers, administrators, and parents across the globe on the topics of assessment and grading. In recognition of his K-12 leadership, Matt was named Iowa’s Central Office Administrator of the year and he was recognized as an ASCD Emerging Leader. He has been featured or quoted in the following media outlets: The Christian Science Monitor, CNN.com, The Washington Post, USA Today, California and Kansas public radio, the Center for Digital Education, Education Week, Khan Academy Ed Talks, as well as presented at national conferences such as the Learning Forward Annual Conference, National Conference on Education (AASA), and the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) Annual Conference. Matt’s energetic approach to engaging audiences has earned him the moniker “The Sportscaster of Alternative Grading.” Dr. Townsley is an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, IA).

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