Journal of Writing Assessment

This essay responds to existing scholarship on neurodivergence/disability and labor-based grading, contending that current critiques define labor-based grading too narrowly and conflate the lack of quantitative grades with a lack of scaffolding. The essay further suggests that labor-based or other alternative assessment approaches, especially those which move away from authoritative, quality-based judgments of student work, invite students to express agency over and open a conversation about expectations around writing processes and habits. The article concludes by calling for additional research and conversation about how labor-based approaches may account for access and accessibility.