Corrected: This story has been updated to reflect the breakdown of weight to letter grades in equitable grading.
More districts across the country have shifted toward new grading practices—such as making each letter grade carry equal weight—to better capture students’ understanding of academic content.
Equitable grading, a term coined by Joe Feldman, author, former educator, and the CEO of Crescendo Education Group which works with schools on grading policies, focuses more on making sure students understand learning goals and less on what students do on their way to learning, said Gaia Pine, an instructional coach at the San Leandro Unified school district in northern California.
As a result, teachers in the district report students saying something like ‘How can I learn Newton’s laws better,’ as opposed to, ‘what can I do to bring up my grade?’” Pine said.
The San Leandro district began shifting to equitable grading practices about a decade ago with districtwide training of teachers and administrators. Pine, who has led some of these trainings, has found teachers and students alike engaging in richer conversations as a result.
“Teachers become clearer about what they’re teaching. Students become clearer about their what they’re learning,” Pine said.
See the downloadable below for key differences between traditional grading policies and the ones now in place in the San Leandro district.
