Fascinating article comparing the “badge” style of assessment that programmers and coders use to “grade” each other’s work with how we traditionally wield the carrot/stick of grades in our education system:

Badges: A solution to our teacher evaluation disaster? – The Answer Sheet – The Washington Post: “Think about that.  We have a system of tests designed for citizens of the Industrial Age, based on the assembly line, that are extremely costly, don’t measure much of content, and don’t motivate learning.  And millions of programmers have found a way that works so well they don’t even need formal credentials and accreditation systems.  What they do works — and works based on peers evaluating contribution (they don’t even have a system of “failing:”  they reward what works, what is good, setting the bar for reputation at its highest, not at its lowest denominator).”

Here’s to a better way.