GRADING BY NARRATIVE EVALUATION - PRESENT TENSE

This article describes the philosophy and administrative practices rel ated to grading by narrative evaluation, an alternative form of gradin g. Faculty-authored narrative evaluations are now standard practice at Antioch University, Hampshire College, and the University of Californ ia-Santa Cruz, and at least 14 other colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. While the number of colleges and universitie s using narratives is relatively small, these institutions send thousa nds of students into the marketplace and to graduate and professional schools; consequently, the ''narrative '' impact is more widespread th an it might appear