03-03-2022, 04:27 PM
By TERRY TANG
yesterday
To curb an alarming rise in failing students at the height of the pandemic, school districts around the U.S. showed leniency in accepting late work and assigning grades.
As the coronavirus crisis subsides, some are sticking with it or adopting similar approaches — not because of the pandemic, but often because of what it revealed about how students are penalized for hardships like a lack of support at home, work obligations or poor internet access.
......
advocates have advanced the concept of “equitable grading,” arguing grades should reflect students’ mastery of course material and not homework, behavior or extra credit. A growing number of schools now are becoming more deliberate about eliminating bias from grading systems as a result of lessons from the pandemic and the nation’s reckoning with racial injustice.
From California to Virginia, schools have been experimenting with getting rid of zero-to-100 point scales and other strategies to keep missed assignments from dramatically bringing down overall grades. Others are allowing students to retake tests and turn work in late. Also coming under scrutiny are extra-credit assignments than can favor students with more advantages.
Some teachers have pushed back, arguing the changes amount to lowering expectations.
In San Diego, a teachers union filed a grievance last year when the district launched plans to introduce equitable grading.
Much more at: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-p...42f9644613
yesterday
To curb an alarming rise in failing students at the height of the pandemic, school districts around the U.S. showed leniency in accepting late work and assigning grades.
As the coronavirus crisis subsides, some are sticking with it or adopting similar approaches — not because of the pandemic, but often because of what it revealed about how students are penalized for hardships like a lack of support at home, work obligations or poor internet access.
......
advocates have advanced the concept of “equitable grading,” arguing grades should reflect students’ mastery of course material and not homework, behavior or extra credit. A growing number of schools now are becoming more deliberate about eliminating bias from grading systems as a result of lessons from the pandemic and the nation’s reckoning with racial injustice.
From California to Virginia, schools have been experimenting with getting rid of zero-to-100 point scales and other strategies to keep missed assignments from dramatically bringing down overall grades. Others are allowing students to retake tests and turn work in late. Also coming under scrutiny are extra-credit assignments than can favor students with more advantages.
Some teachers have pushed back, arguing the changes amount to lowering expectations.
In San Diego, a teachers union filed a grievance last year when the district launched plans to introduce equitable grading.
Much more at: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-p...42f9644613