For more on Classroom Assessment and Grading, contact

Office for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
Center for Writing-based Learning
Classroom Assessment and Grading

What’s the Difference?

Many faculty see assessment and grading as synonymous— after all, nearly all grading practices involve evaluating student performance in some way. That said, we think there are generally useful (if subtle) differences between the two:1

  • In its broadest sense, assessment involves identifying and addressing specific strengths and weaknesses in student learning.
  • Grades, on the other hand, typically summarize a student’s performance on an assignment or in a course.
Despite this very broad distinction, when grades are tied to specific learning outcomes, they can provide rich and specific data about student learning to students and faculty alike2.

Turning in Grades

For logistics of turning in grades, visit Turn in Grades.


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Resources & Notes





1See also the LAS TLA committee’s response to questions about the difference between grading and assessment (PDF).







2Carnegie Mellon’s Eberly Center has a detailed, helpful explanation of how course grades can serve as data for assessment at the course or program level.

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