Extreme Ungrading: Rewilding the Classroom through Human-Centered Design

Assessment in computer science education has grown reliant on rigid rubrics and intensive exams, a practice that yields capable yet compliant coders. In this article, I explore how we might use human-centered design to reexamine contemporary pedagogy and redesign our classrooms to cultivate a different type of programmer, one with a more critically engaged eye. Inspired by the ethos of agile development, I offer an alternative evaluation paradigm: Extreme Ungrading. Exploring results of a two-year case study applying this method to a software engineering class, this article distills actionable guidelines for enhancing learning outcomes through inclusive course development, and seeks to spark debate about our duty as scholars of HCI to reshape computer science education.