This interactive workshop examines 10 grading practices that faculty often use to assess student achievement, but can hinder student success. Participants will be introduced to the Layered Curriculum and Multiple Intelligences, two research-based instructional strategies that can serve as alternative assessment tools to gage student mastery of content and to maximize student success. The workshop takes a Backward Design approach to looking at what we want students to know and be able to do at the end of a semester. Participants will use Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Quality Matters rubric to review their lesson plans and course syllabi for alignment of assessments and assignments with course goals and objectives. Alignment of assessments with teaching and learning provide multiple opportunities to track student progress and increase student performance, student engagement, and student achievement.  (1.5 – 3.0 hours)