A principal-turned-consultant has built a movement—and a business—on overturning how teachers have graded for generations. His alternative: “grading for equity.”
Joe Feldman preaches that students should be able to retake tests and redo assignments. There should be no penalties for late work and no grades for homework. No points for good behavior, classroom participation or perfect attendance, either.
“When you include those in a grade, you’re bringing your implicit bias into the grade because not all students learn in that particular way,” Feldman told dozens of teachers gathered for a training session in Schenectady, N.Y., one Wednesday afternoon in March. Students should be graded only on their demonstrated learning of class material, Feldman said.
America’s grading system has been largely stable for decades, but Feldman has managed to shift many schools’ practices in just a few years. And despite the broader Trump-led swell against anything with the word “equity” in it, Feldman continues to evangelize his approach—and some school leaders keep listening.
Schenectady City School District superintendent Carlos Cotto, whose district paid Feldman’s consulting firm $65,000 to train hundreds of teachers in March, isn’t deterred by the equity backlash. “It’s part of the work when you think of education,” he said.
Grading for equity hasn’t escaped political criticism, though. Connecticut legislators, for instance, have questioned a policy in some districts to set minimum grades for assignments at 50 rather than zero, a common feature of equitable grading. Some schools nationwide instituted the practice only to roll back parts of it.
Teachers give Feldman’s ideas mixed reviews. In Schenectady, some scrolled on their phones during his presentation, while others complained they weren’t sure his approach was practical. It remains unclear whether this form of grading is more effective or even more equitable than the traditional way.
Notes on ungrading.
Madison’s grading schemes over the years are worth a look as well.
and, via Chris Rickert:
It’s also laid bare what could be an inequity in the new guaranteed-admission regime because most Dane County public high schools also don’t weigh their grades for difficulty — meaning that, in theory, students who get straight A’s in all regular-level classes could have a better chance at getting in to UW than students who take more challenging honors and advanced placement classes but also have a few B’s sprinkled in with their A’s.
