Educational institutions like the University of Michigan are, on the surface at least, deeply committed to fairness. This commitment is often tested: any time we select students for admission, evaluate their work for grades, or decide who to honor. Although the commitment is simple, living up to it is not. Creating an educational system that…

Grades are important. Instructors structure their courses around deciding them; students expend enormous effort pursuing them; they form the only record of student performance every University feels obligated to retain. They’re also consequential. Grades provide students with their primary performance feedback, threshold course passage and the award of diplomas, and are combined to rank students…