Teachers Give Equitable Grading an ‘F’

For as long as teachers have been teaching, students have been coming up with excuses for not doing their homework in an effort to not get penalized for their laziness.

But thanks to the concept of equitable grading, there is no need for “the dog ate my homework” or more creative excuses to avoid having their grade affected.

According to a new report by the Fordham Institute 52% of public teachers surveyed said their school or district has adopted at least one of these equitable grading policies: no zeros, no penalties for late work, unlimited retakes on tests and quizzes, no credit for completing homework, and no credit for class participation.

But despite the movement towards a more woke curriculum, teachers hate this “equitable” solution by a large margin with 81% saying that a no-zeros policy is “harmful to academic engagement,” including 80% of “teachers of color,” according to the Fordham report.

Teachers were also quoted in the report on their feelings about the “no zero policy.”

“We have the 50% rule, which I think is ridiculous.”

“Being given a 50 percent for doing nothing seems to enable laziness.”

“Everybody gets at least a 50 percent is insulting to the students who work.”

“We have gone to the ‘Do nothing, get a 50’ grade policy. Students have figured out that, if they work hard for a quarter (usually the first) they can ‘coast’ the rest of the year and get a D.”

“Forcing teachers to give students half-credit on assignments that have not been completed and/or turned in is a disservice to students.”

If a student aims to just get by and get a passing grade to graduate to the next level without learning anything, equitable grading policies are there to help them achieve that goal.

If you wondered why our students are falling behind other nations and watching test scores drop, this policy is one of the many culprits of the dumbing down of our education system.  At least in this case, teachers are largely not on board, so there is still some hope.