# 140 - Beyond Labels: Specifications, Standards and Designing Better Grading - with Adriana Streifer

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-grading-podcast-6385485/140-beyond-labels-specifications-standards-and-designing-better-grading-with-adriana-streifer
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-grading-podcast-6385485/140-beyond-labels-specifications-standards-and-designing-better-grading-with-adriana-streifer.md
Podcast: [The Grading Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-grading-podcast-6385485)
Published: 2026-03-17T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://thegradingpod.com/podcast-test-page/140-beyond-labels-specifications-standards-and-designing-better-grading-with-adriana-streifer
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/e44a02a0-958c-4e50-bc27-18cd73289492.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3461

## Resource

Sharona and Boz are joined by Dr. Adriana Streifer, Associate Professor and Associate Director at the University of Virginia’s Center for Teaching Excellence, to explore how specifications grading, course design, and institutional culture intersect with the broader movement to rethink grading in higher education. Adriana shares how her early experiences teaching writing led her to question the fairness and meaning of traditional grading and ultimately adopt specifications grading as a way to better represent the complex, process-based nature of learning. The conversation dives into the practical differences between specifications and standards-based grading, lessons learned from facilitating the Alternative Grading Institute, and how instructors can assess their readiness for grading innovation in light of institutional constraints and professional risk. Along the way, the discussion examines the difference between procedural and conceptual rigor, the ways grading systems shape pedagogy, and how identity and institutional culture influence the pushback instructors may experience when they change grading practices. The conversation wraps up with a look toward the future: designing grading systems that align with values, support real learning, and perhaps eventually move beyond grades entirely. Links Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support! From Expectations to Experiences: Students’ Perceptions of Specifications Grading in Higher Education Is Specifications Grading Right for Me?: A Readiness Assessment to Help Instructors Decide Rethinking Grading: An In-Progress Experience , by Jason Mittell When Is A Number Not A Number , Grading for Growth Blog…

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## Transcript

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