This paper presents our reflection on and evaluation of an innovative project to calculate student grades on one platform based on data held on another learning and teaching platform. The development and implementation of this project is outlined along with gaps in understanding of educational design and grading practice. A pilot project resulted in students being awarded grades for courses of study that were inaccurate, had not been approved by the relevant faculty committees and were not calculated using the published model for marking. When these initiatives fail, the impact upon students is significant and data are presented to illustrate this along with analysis and an evaluation of the intervention. The faculty remains supportive of the overall desire to streamline practice and reporting and continues to engage with this project. Fundamental debates about assessment design and practice and default assumptions about grading models within software tools are presented with reference to international literature. Our approaches to address these challenges and keep moving forward are outlined along with recommendations for developing such innovations.
