Why equity must be part of grading reform?

Grading for equity goes beyond FAST grading and standards-based grading in two ways: It protects grading from implicit individual biases and it counteracts the institutional biases in traditional grading.

Why is equitable grading important?

Equitable grading can take different forms, but it aims to measure how students understand the classroom material by the end of a term without penalties for behavior, The Wall Street Journal reported. This has resulted in more opportunities for students to complete tests and assignments.

What is the main idea of grading for equity?

This is all about equity. This is grading and assessing students on what they do inside the classroom, not based on their lives outside the classroom. It's about giving every student second chances, and third chances, and more, to learn. It's about giving every student hope.

What are the problems with equitable grading?

While most talk of equitable grading focuses on low-income students and children of color, including behavior and nonacademic criteria in grades tends to inflate the grades of students who have the most resources and are best able to accommodate, adhere to, and comply with a teacher's expected behaviors.

What are the principles of equitable grading?

Accurate, bias-resistant, and motivational grading practices are the core of Joe Feldman's Grading for Equity work. Here are some examples of practices many schools have adopted in moving toward grading equity: Avoiding zeros on the 0-100-point scale and implementing a 50 in place as the minimum grade.

Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, How It Transforms Schools and Classrooms

How do you make a grading equitable?

By contrast, more equitable grading practice looks like: Mathematical approach; instead of using a 100 point scale, using a 0-4 grading scale instead; avoid giving them a zero score. Recent student's grades should carry more weightage than averaging performance over time in the final grade in their report cards.

How is equitable grading different from traditional grading?

Equitable grading practices separate the behavior from the assessment of knowledge. These practices emphasize the belief that all students can learn and meet learning targets. According to experts, traditional grading with the well-known bell curve and 100-point scale is inherently inequitable.

How do issues of equity and accuracy impact your approaches to grading?

What more equitable grading looks like. By contrast, more equitable practices: Apply mathematically sound approaches, using a 0-4 instead of a 0-100 point scale; avoid giving students scores of zero; and weigh more recent performance and growth instead of averaging performance over time.

How does equity affect schools?

Equity in education aims to create a level playing field for all children by supporting those who need it most. Bolstering pre-primary (ECEC) provision and home learning environments for disadvantaged children has significant benefits for children – and for the long-term resilience of societies and economies.

What is an example of equitable grading policy?

Additionally, equitable grading policies often include replacing the use of zeros and averaging performance over time with practices that emphasize progress toward mastery such as offering the opportunity to retake assessments, adjusting grading scales, and using portfolios.

What equity really means in schools?

Equality in education is achieved when students are all treated the same and have access to similar resources. Equity is achieved when all students receive the resources they need so they graduate prepared for success after high school.

What are the three pillars of grading?

Feldman's three elements of equitable grading practices are accuracy, motivation, and bias-resistance.

Who wrote grading for equity?

Book overview

"Joe Feldman shows us how we can use grading to help students become the leaders of their own learning and lift the veil on how to succeed. . . . This must-have book will help teachers learn to implement improved, equity-focused grading for impact."

What are the four pillars of equitable grading?

Equitable grading has three pillars: accuracy, bias-resistance, and intrinsic motivation. Grades must accurately reflect only a student's academic level of performance, exclude nonacademic criteria (such as behavior), and use mathematically sound calculations and scales, such as the 0–4 instead of the 0–100 scale.

Why equity is more important than equality in education?

Students come from a variety of different circumstances and have different strengths and needs, so distributing resources equally does not ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. In an equitable system, each student gets what they need when they need it.

Why is equity and equality important in education?

For all of these reasons, equity in education is a critical foundation for a democratic society in which people of all backgrounds are equally included. Without equal opportunities to obtain an education, they will not be able to participate equally in jobs, in voting, and in other crucial areas of life.

How do you ensure equity in schools?

Is standards based grading more equitable?

Standards-based grading systems that do not simply translate a B into a 3, but accurately capture student learning across concepts and skills, promote equity and fairness in schools.

Why is traditional grading better?

On the plus side, the traditional grading scale is well-established and understood by both students and educators. It is also easy to use and provides a clear way to compare student performance.

What makes an assessment equitable?

To assess equitably is to: have meaningful student involvement throughout the process. implement assessment practices that are intentional and context-specific. clearly articularly expectations and embed opportunities for assessment within and throughout a course.

Why is extra credit not equitable?

“The research is overwhelming that extra credit disproportionately rewards students with more privilege and resources and punishes those who don't have those,” said Feldman. How to begin? One way not to begin is with a top-down approach, according to Feldman.

Is the grading system fair?

Traditional grading is confusing and inaccurate

But my research has found that it's very rare that all teachers in a district, or even a school or a grade level, use the same grading policies and procedures. The variation among teachers' grading policies and practices causes confusion for students and their parents.

Should the grading system be abolished?

In addition to harming students' health, grades are also inefficient motivators for learning. External incentives and rewards, such as grades or paychecks, are less effective than intrinsic motivation, such as a natural curiosity or desire to learn, according to the American Psychological Association.

What are the four steps in grading reform?

They include: (1) Be Clear About the Purpose; (2) Use Multiple Grades; (3) Change Procedures for Selecting the Class Valedictorian and Eliminate Class Rank; and (4) Give Honest, Accurate, and Meaningful Grades.

What are the elements of effective grading?

S.O.S. (A Summary of the Summary )

~ This book shows that by improving your grading system, you can actually increase student performance. ~ To make your grading system more effective, it needs to be accurate, fair, specific, and timely.