Speakers
Description
Conventional grading systems, built on partial credit, averaged scores, opaque rubrics, or teachers’ intuition, often obscure rather than communicate what students can actually do. Specifications grading offers a compelling alternative: assignments are assessed on a pass/fail basis against clearly defined criteria, with bundled token systems allowing students strategic flexibility. While the model has gained traction in higher education, its adoption in ELT and teacher training contexts remains limited, and practitioners face real implementation challenges that the literature does not always address.
This paper presentation reports on the instructor's experience adapting specifications grading for a university-level teacher training course in Vietnam. Drawing on Nilson's updated framework (2025) and Clark and Talbert's advocacy for rehumanising assessment through alternative grading practices (2023), the presenter examines three core challenges encountered during implementation: designing discipline-appropriate specifications, managing workload sustainably, and helping trainees transition away from grade-seeking behaviours. Participant survey data and assignment revision patterns are used to illustrate how these challenges were navigated across one academic semester.
Attendees will leave with a replicable design template for specifications-based assessment, practical strategies for introducing the system to resistant learners, and a realistic framework for piloting the approach in their own professional development or ELT courses. The session invites reflection on how alternative assessment models can better align with communicative, competency-based goals central to contemporary English language teaching.
Biography
Jon Nichols holds an MATESOL from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and B.Sc. in criminology from the University of La Verne in Southern California. Previously, Jon finished two years in Vietnam as an English Language Fellow with the United States State Department’s Regional English Language Office. He currently teaches at VinUniversity, Hanoi and has led myriad workshop trainings for educators throughout Vietnam. His research interests include the ever increasing use of AI in education and how it impacts teachers, students, and major stakeholders. Other research has included L1 influences on L2 development, pedagogical training, and curriculum development.
| Affiliate type | University |
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