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- PaperAssessment & Evaluation in Higher Education8 Jul 2026
Grading in an age of assessment reform: the elephant in the room
Juuso Henrik Nieminen, Margaret Bearman, David Boud, Thomas Corbin et al.
This conceptual study examines how grading is neglected in higher education assessment reform discussions, particularly in the context of Generative AI (GenAI). It analyzes two common responses—AI-proof and AI-powered grading—and finds both reinforce existing grading systems rather than rethinking them. A policy review reveals a critical silence about grades, urging broader conversations on how to represent student achievement.
Original abstract
Higher education sectors worldwide have largely adopted a rhetoric of assessment redesign, calling for fundamental ‘rethinking’, ‘reforming’ and ‘reimagining’ of assessment. This rhetoric is particularly evident in the so-called age of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). But what about grades? In this conceptual study, we address the elephant in the room, grading: a large looming presence that is nonetheless absent from conversation about assessment reform. By using the surge of GenAI technologies as the context for assessment reforms, we analyse recent responses in grading policy and practice to GenAI technologies by asking what has changed, if anything. We discuss how two approaches to grading in an age of GenAI – AI-proof grading and AI-powered grading – both further reinforce the status quo of grading systems. Next, we conduct a policy review and note a critical silence regarding grades. Based on these two analyses, we showcase that entire programs of assessment are being reworked with little to no thought given to grades. Our study aims to generate broader, sector-wide conversations about how higher education institutions should represent student achievement.