Naor Cohen

← Teaching Projects

Teaching experiment · Classroom Tested. Classroom use is not evidence of effectiveness.

Specifications Grading

Clear standards, student choice and a way to act on feedback in an ethical leadership course.

A closer look at the design

Explore one documented bundle design

These are the core C, B and A requirements in one Senior Leadership class design. Each higher bundle includes the requirements below it.

C bundle — the common core

  • Complete class participation activities and discussions satisfactorily.
  • Achieve at least 60% on every reading quiz.

A question for your course

What evidence would show that students have met the essential learning objectives in your course?

B bundle — add the presentation

  • Meet the C bundle requirements for participation and every reading quiz.
  • Complete the Sustainable Development Goal presentation satisfactorily.

A question for your course

What does the added task let students demonstrate that the common core does not?

A bundle — add the final paper

  • Meet the C bundle requirements for participation and every reading quiz.
  • Meet the B bundle requirements for the Sustainable Development Goal presentation satisfactorily.
  • Complete the final paper satisfactorily.

A question for your course

Does your most demanding bundle offer deeper learning, and can students understand the additional commitment before choosing it?

This is a description of a historical course design, not a current grading policy or a grade calculator. Modifiers and revision allowances vary across the materials and are deliberately not calculated here.

Teaching resources

  • Specifications design worksheet

    Work from a learning objective to observable criteria, a revision policy and a student-facing explanation. Includes a new leadership-reflection example.

    Open worksheet: Specifications design worksheet
    Version, requirements & rights
    Version
    0.1
    Updated
    2026-10-18
    Requirements
    A browser; an optional text editor for the editable Markdown download.
    Rights
    No public reuse licence is granted. Request permission before redistribution.

  • Presentation feedback and revision worksheet

    A practical sequence for observing a presentation, giving specific feedback and planning a second attempt.

    Open worksheet: Presentation feedback and revision worksheet
    Version, requirements & rights
    Version
    0.1
    Updated
    2026-10-18
    Requirements
    A browser; an optional text editor for the editable Markdown download.
    Rights
    No public reuse licence is granted. Request permission before redistribution.

Begin with the teaching context, then open a worksheet to see how criteria, feedback and revision fit together.

The classroom account and revision policies

Why I tried it

I used specifications grading in a Senior Leadership class focused on ethical leadership. I wanted students to know what satisfactory work required and to choose how far to extend their work.

The design used nested grade bundles. Participation and reading quizzes formed the common core; a presentation and a final paper added requirements. Assignments were satisfactory or unsatisfactory against published specifications, while quizzes retained percentage thresholds. Choosing a bundle did not itself earn a grade.

Feedback before a second presentation

For the Sustainable Development Goal assignment, students researched a goal, presented to a small team, received peer feedback and presented again. Assessment was individual. Peers described observable behaviour and suggested a next step; the instructor and teaching assistants assessed the work against the specifications.

Revision rules need to be explicit

One policy version allocated two tokens for resubmission, work up to 48 hours late, or an absence from a non-simulation activity. Another iteration used a different revision allowance. These are separate versions: an adaptation needs one consistent policy, not a combination of both.

Students still need help interpreting standards, choosing a bundle and responding to an unsatisfactory result. This account documents a design, not evidence that it improves learning. The leadership-philosophy and infographic tasks are further examples of explicit expectations; they are not interchangeable final papers or automatically part of a particular bundle.

Start with one assignment using the design worksheet or presentation feedback worksheet.