52% of American Schools and Districts have begun rolling out a new program called Equitable Grading. Tennessee doesn’t mandate it yet, but local school systems can implement it if they wish. The Tennessee Department of Education sets a uniform 10-point grading scale for high school. Still, local districts have autonomy over grading policies, particularly at lower grade levels, which allows for the adoption of equitable grading practices. 

Equitable Grading means students have:

– Unlimited test retakes

– No zeros for missing work

– No homework, homework is excluded from final grades

– No late penalties

– No required participation

In short, everyone passes, and more than half of the US public schools have already adopted at least one of these policies. Some districts have adopted all of them. It is the academic equivalent of “everybody gets a trophy.”

Teachers themselves are calling it academic fraud. Meanwhile, the US already spends more per student than almost any other developed nation and our students are performing near the bottom. For example:

– American 15 year olds placed 28th out of 37 countries in math and reading;  and math scores just hit their lowest levels in 20 years.

– In some districts, over 50% of middle school students are already three or more grade levels behind, yet they’re still being pushed through the system.

Apparently, schools are implementing this to raise test scores, improve graduation rates, and close achievement gaps tied to race and income. This is the classroom version of not just lowering the bar, it’s destroying it. And it is clearly intended to disguise the failures in achievement in our classrooms. It allows  graduation rates to go up, while diplomas are handed to students who can’t read them. 

How widespread is this approach?

– 52%: Schools/districts using at least one Equitable Grading policy (e.g., no zeros, retakes, or late-work leniency).

– 34%: Using 2-3 Equitable Grading policies.

• 6%: Using 4+ Equitable Grading policies (full “package” implementation).

Another indication of the political rather than academic goals of equitable grading is the fact that it is applied more  (55%) on majority-minority middle schools and in urban/ inner city settings. In other words, let’s hide those low test scores and failing students by making sure nobody gets bad test scores and nobody fails.

JC Bowman, Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET) warrned that it is an insidious virus that could soon infect Tennessee schools from top to bottom.

“The obsession with high GPAs and flaws with the traditional letter grades and percentages reveal the complexities of student learning. We need a grading system that truly reflects what students know.  While equitable grading sounds good, it can lead to grade inflation faster than you can say, ‘I’ll take a retake!’ Ultimately, we risk reducing accountability and compromising the academic rigor that keeps education from turning into a game of ‘Who Has the Highest Fake GPA?'”

Steve Gill is editor and publisher of TriStar Daily.