For years, the school district in Schenectady, New York has been struggling with poor student performance. Like many other districts, they implemented an “equitable grading” policy in response to dismal exam results. However, a recent national survey indicates that the majority of teachers believe that equitable grading is actually detrimental to students in the long run, despite over half of schools and districts across the nation implementing this practice.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, Schenectady reported that 95% of their freshman high school students were lagging behind by three grades or more in math. A year later, the district’s report stated that over half of middle school students (grades 6-8) were lagging behind by three or more levels in both reading and math, with high school students’ daily attendance dropping to below 79%.
In response to these disappointing results, district leadership implemented the “equitable grading” policy: late assignments would not incur penalties, students could continue to retake assessments under teacher guidance until achieving satisfactory grades, and unfinished grades by the end of the semester required approval from the school principal. This policy went into effect last fall.
“This is almost academic fraud,” said Christopher Ognibene, a social studies teacher at Schenectady High School, in an interview with The Epoch Times. He recalled a student who consistently received a B throughout the year but only scored 43 on the year-end New York State Regents exam.
“If they aren’t academically prepared for college, no matter how pretty their transcript and report may be, it’s meaningless. The reality is, deadlines exist in the real world,” he stated.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and the Rand Corporation education team, the majority of teachers share Ognibene’s sentiments towards this widespread policy.
The survey, which involved 967 K-12 district teachers nationwide, culminated in a report titled “Teachers’ Perspectives on Equitable Grading” released on August 20th this year. The report noted: “Teachers aren’t fond of having the rare tools that boost student motivation and effort, the opportunity to learn, hammered away. They aren’t eager to award undeserved scores to students.”
The report outlined five equitable grading practices – unlimited retakes, no deductions for late submissions, no zeros given, no assigned homework, and no mandatory participation. More than half of the surveyed schools utilized at least one of these methods, with a quarter of districts allowing three practices, the most common being unlimited retakes, no point deductions for late submissions, and not assigning zeros.
81% of teachers in the survey expressed particular opposition to partial credit for late assignments.
The survey also included an open-ended response section, in which teachers highlighted the prevalence of guaranteeing a minimum score of 50.
“Some schools enforce a ‘do nothing and still get a 50′ policy,” wrote one teacher, with the report not disclosing the respondents’ identities, “Students quickly learn that if they put in effort in the first semester, they can coast and end up with a D.”
Last year, national attention was drawn to this practice following the case of illiterate high school graduate Aleysha Ortiz from Hartford, Connecticut, who was admitted to college. Ortiz later sued the district, stating that she relied on a smartphone’s speech-to-text function to complete assignments.
Carol Gale, the president of the Hartford Teachers Union, earlier told The Epoch Times, that aside from an automatic 50, her district only required a passing grade of 60 for the academic year, allowing some students with 40 to 50 absences annually to pass.
“It seems to me that this is simply allowed to boost graduation rates,” she mentioned.
The Fordham Foundation’s report did not specify the districts involved in the survey but noted that these policies sparked heated debates in Schenectady, Oregon’s Portland, and San Leandro, California before their implementation. The report also mentioned that education leaders in Atlanta and Las Vegas are “changing course” due to negative outcomes and are doing away with equitable grading policies.
Schools implementing equitable grading aim to address low standardized test scores, increase graduation rates, and narrow the achievement gap based on race and socioeconomic status.
Respondents mentioned that their schools adopted the policies outlined in the 2023 publication “Equitable Grading: What It Is, Why It’s Important, and How It Will Change Schools and Classrooms.” Author Joe Feldman, a former teacher and principal, provides consultation on policy implementation in schools nationwide.
“When it comes to equity and diversity in urban schools, everyone is on board,” Ognibene told The Epoch Times, “Everyone wants a silver bullet, but no book can solve the issues currently happening.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the Schenectady school district for comments.
Gherian Foster, an activist with the Albany civil rights organization “Black Abolitionist Directive” who worked in the Schenectady school district, believes that equitable grading is a viable solution to improve long-term student performance.
She noted that the policy can encourage classroom engagement and discussions, rather than what she referred to as outdated and ineffective teaching methods that involve mindlessly absorbing information for high grades.
“If students are just staring at their Chromebooks every class, that’s not engaging instruction,” Foster stated to The Epoch Times, “It puts pressure on both teachers and students. Do we really need to test them frequently, or are there other methods?”