coaching throughout the year, I help teach-
ers critically examine traditional grading
without blame or judgment, learn more ac-
curate, equitable and supportive practices,
and then prototype them in classrooms.
They gather data to learn the effects of the
new practices, share results with their col-
leagues, and repeat the cycle.
In doing this work, teachers are surprised
and empowered to find that with more ac-
curate and equitable grading, their students
feel a stronger sense of ownership, control
and hope – three feelings that traditional
grading systems don’t promote, but that
most school cultures prioritize.
Grading becomes less subjective and in-
consistent across teachers, more rigorous
and holds students more accountable. More
importantly, student failure rates decrease
dramatically, particularly for students of
color, from low-income families, and those
with special needs – our schools’ most vul-
nerable populations, and those who our In-
dustrial Revolution schools weren’t designed
to even enroll, much less prepare for post-
secondary success.
To look at grading with a critical eye, to
really confront a grading system that is so
deeply woven into what we think schools
and teaching are, is hard intellectually, psy-
chologically and emotionally.
Lucy, English chair at her high school and
an 18-year teaching veteran, captured how
some teachers experience this work: “Exam-
ining grading challenges what I’ve learned
to do as a teacher in terms of what I think
students need to know, what they need to
show back to me, and how to grade them.
This feels really important, messy and re-
ally uncomfortable. It is, ‘Oh my gosh look
what I’ve been doing!’ I don’t blame myself
because I didn’t know any better. I did what
was done to me. But now I’m in a place that
I feel really strongly that I can’t do that any-
more.”
Making our grading practices more accu-
rate and fair is the most important kind of
equity work, confronting a deeply ingrained
part of our education system and reforming
it to transform an entire organization. If we
have courage, commitment and love for our
students, we can change the very DNA of
our schools. Instead of perpetuating dispa-
rate outcomes, our schools can be designed
to support success for every student.
Resources
• Erickson, J. (March 26, 2010). “Grading
Practices: The Third Rail.” Principal Lead-
ership, Vol. 10 No. 7 pp. 22-24. National
Association of Secondary School Principals.
• Tyack, D. and Cuban, L. (1997). “Tin-
kering toward Utopia: A Century of Public
School Reform,” Harvard University Press.
Joe Feldman is the CEO of Crescendo
Education Group, which partners with
schools and districts throughout the
country to improve the equity, accuracy,
and consistency of grading and
assessment practices. He is a former
high school teacher, principal and district
administrator. In April 2018, his book on
grading and equity is scheduled to be
published by Corwin.
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