Assigning grades is conventionally the exclusive, lonely terrain of the instructor, even as other aspects of responding to student writing are collaborative. As an alternative that promotes student engagement and agency, labor-based contract grading is used in a growing number of writing classrooms. This article describes an alternative: evidence-based, student-led grading, an option that foregrounds students' own response to their writing in the form of evidence-based interpretation and use arguments for their grades. This approach foregrounds students' own response to their writing (in the form of evidence-based interpretation and use arguments for their grades). It engages students in the process of assessment, in this case, in appraising not only their labor but also their writing process and the writing they produce. First, I briefly describe themes and challenges in conventional grading and in contract-based grading. Then, I offer context and example material for evidence-based student interpretation and use arguments for summative grades. I close with limitations and ongoing considerations.