The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Grade \Grade\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Graded; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Grading.]
   1. To arrange in order, steps, or degrees, according to size,
      quality, rank, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To reduce to a level, or to an evenly progressive ascent,
      as the line of a canal or road.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Stock Breeding) To cross with some better breed; to
      improve the blood of.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Grading \Grad"ing\, n.
   The act or method of arranging in or by grade, or of
   bringing, as the surface of land or a road, to the desired
   level or grade.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

grading
    n 1: the act of arranging in a graduated series [syn: scaling,
         grading]
    2: changing the ground level to a smooth horizontal or gently
       sloping surface [syn: grading, leveling]
    3: evaluation of performance by assigning a grade or score;
       "what he disliked about teaching was all the grading he had
       to do" [syn: marking, grading, scoring]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

24 Moby Thesaurus words for "grading":
   analysis, arrangement, cataloging, categorization, classification,
   codification, division, filing, gradation, graduation, grouping,
   indexing, pigeonholing, placement, ranging, ranking, rating,
   shading, sorting, stratification, subdivision, tabulation,
   taxonomy, typology