San Francisco schools dropped a controversial proposed overhaul last year of how students are assessed, called “Grading for Equity,” after parents, advocates and even the mayor slammed the proposal.
The fight over “Grading for Equity” now is popping in the East Bay’s Tri-Valley school districts, where education officials have a plan to counter potential opposition: remove the word “equity” from their policies.
The high-performing East Bay districts are adopting some of the core principles of the grading approach, which allows students multiple retakes, reduces how often zeros are given on tests and eliminates extra credit, among other changes — while scrubbing any mention of the word that has made the movement politically radioactive. Supporters say the intention of equity grading is to encourage students to focus more on learning and less on points.
School districts in Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton and San Ramon, which boast high graduation rates and above-average state test scores, have either rolled out or are considering reforms, but administrators say what they’re doing is “standards-based grading,” “mastery-based assessment” or “grade reform.” Not equity.