Leveling Up

Luke Clossey and Esther Souman decided to approach assessment in a new way. Blending their experience in paramedicine and gaming, they focused on helping students master specific, essential skills before “leveling up” to the next more difficult or creative assignment. They found that “Evaluating Without Grading” enabled students to concentrate on skill mastery and offered themselves flexibility. This issue features their reflection on this approach to students’ academic development.

Photo: Gabriel Izgi/Unsplash

Download PDF

Perspectives on History October 2021 Cover. Navy blue cover with an image of an orange neon staircase and the tagline Leveling Up.

Staff

Ashley E. Bowen, editor
Laura Ansley, managing editor
Alana Venable, research and publications assistant
Alexandra F. Levy, digital communications coordinator
Liz Townsend, manager, data administration and integrity

Featured Articles

The specifications grading system enables students to earn their grades by moving sequentially and passing different levels of assignments.

September 14, 2021

Features

Evaluating Without Grading
The Harry S. Truman Building, home of the US Department of State, in Washington, DC. The Office of the Historian is adjacent on Navy Hill.

September 20, 2021

Features

Consistently Evolving
Muscle Motion

September 29, 2021

Everything Has a History

Muscle Motion

From the AHA

Gray-blue brick building with white trim and a black metal staircase in the front. Large tree is on the left, and brick sidewalk lines the front.

September 7, 2021

From the Editor, Townhouse Notes

Progress Toward a Simple but Audacious Goal
Pencils on yellow background

September 15, 2021

From the Executive Director

AHA and OAH Join Coalition to Combat Misinformation
Pencils on yellow background

September 8, 2021

From the President

Biography’s Occupational Hazards
Stars and comets across dark sky

September 13, 2021

AHA Activities

Extreme Spaces and New Frontiers
A black and white photo of a women registering to vote at a table with two young men.

September 30, 2021

AHA Activities

Nominations Invited for AHA Offices, Terms Beginning January 2023
Stars and comets across dark sky

October 18, 2021

AHA Activities, Perspectives Daily

American Historical Association Announces 2021 Prize Winners
Black background with clusters of translucent and overlapping dark blue, pink, and orange dots of varying sizes, some of which have blurred edges.

September 30, 2021

AHA Activities

Advocacy Briefs, October 2021
Color photograph of a Tiffany stained-glass window depicting a white southerner as a medieval knight, surrounded by roundels with the official flag of the Confederate States of America, the Confederate battle flag, the flag of Alabama, and a white cotton boll. The inscription reads, “As crusaders of old they fought their heritage to save.”

September 22, 2021

AHA Annual Meeting

Confronting Race and Medieval Fantasies

Other Articles

Light pink circles across pink and blue background

September 30, 2021

In Memoriam

Katherine B. Aaslestad (1961–2021)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

September 30, 2021

In Memoriam

Charles Capper (1944–2021)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

September 30, 2021

In Memoriam

William P. Kaldis (1923–2021)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

September 30, 2021

In Memoriam

Buchanan Sharp (1942–2020)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

September 30, 2021

In Memoriam

Mechal Sobel (1933–2021)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

September 30, 2021

In Memoriam

Athan G. Theoharis (1936–2021)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

September 30, 2021

In Memoriam

Irwin Unger (1927–2021)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

September 30, 2021

In Memoriam

Daniel J. Wilson (1949–2021)
Spotlight on a dark background

October 8, 2021

Member Spotlight, Perspectives Daily

AHA Member Spotlight: G. Jasper Conner
Spotlight on a dark background

October 22, 2021

Member Spotlight, Perspectives Daily

AHA Member Spotlight: Donna Rae Devlin

News

Color photograph of a group of adults inside a hotel conference room.

October 25, 2021

On Contract, Perspectives Daily

Essential Networks
Black-rim eyeglasses in front of a laptop with a blurry screen. The laptop screen has windows open with various cybersecurity programs.

October 6, 2021

News, Perspectives Daily

From PhD to Policy