Holistic grading
History

In the USA an exponential spread in holistic scoring took place from around 1975 to 1990, fueled in part by the educational accountability movement. In 1980 assessment of school writing was being conducted in at least 24 states, the large majority by writing samples rated holistically. In post-secondary education, more and more colleges and universities were using holistic scoring for advance credit, placement into first-year writing courses, exit from writing courses, and qualification for junior status and for undergraduate degree. Writing teachers were also instructing their students in holistic scoring so they could judge one another's writing—a pedagogy taught in National Writing Projects.
oulipo:avoid_letter[a], length_constraints:number_paragraphs[6]