Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms

Raise standards and improve learning for all students through equitable grading Grading–one of the most important responsibilities of teachers with major implications for students’ academic and life trajectories–is ironically also among the most enigmatic and frequently avoided topics in education. Although most teachers sense that common grading practices are often ineffective, there is limited understanding of how those practices can undermine effective teaching and harm students, particularly those historically underserved. It is long past due to implement grading practices that are more accurate, bias-resistant, and motivational, and which improve student learning, empower teachers, and transform classrooms as a result. In this newly updated edition of the best-selling Grading for Equity, Joe Feldman provides a valuable resource for anyone invested in grading and its impact on students’ education, mental health, and future opportunities. Offering a research-based alternative to the status quo, this practitioner-friendly guide provides Extensive revisions that reflect how the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement shifted traditional grading systems New data from both academic research and classrooms that demonstrate the benefits of equitable grading for all students Clear approaches to implement equitable grading practices Updated information on several equitable grading practices, including proficiency scales A new concluding chapter that explores implementing equitable grading system-wide With a down-to-earth style driven by the author’s own curiosity as a teacher, principal, district administrator, and university instructor, this book will invite and challenge you to think about how more equitable grading, when implemented effectively, creates a more rigorous, humane, and positive school experience for all.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments About the Author Preface to the 2nd Edition A Note About Language and Terminology Prologue: Mallory’s Dilemma PART I: FOUNDATIONS Chapter 1. What Makes Grading So Difficult to Talk About (And Even Harder to Change) Chapter 2. A Brief History of Grading PART II: THE CASE FOR CHANGE: HOW TRADITIONAL GRADING THWARTS EFFECTIVE AND EQUITABLE TEACHING AND LEARNING Chapter 3. How Traditional Grading Stifles Risk-Taking and Supports the “Commodity of Grades” Chapter 4. Traditional Grading Hides Information, Invites Biases, and Provides Misleading Information Chapter 5. Traditional Grading Demotivates and Disempowers PART III: EQUITABLE GRADING PRACTICES Chapter 6. A New Vision of Grading Chapter 7. Practices That Are Mathematically Accurate Chapter 8. Practices That Are Mathematically Accurate (Continued) Chapter 9. Practices That Value Knowledge, Not Environment or Behavior Chapter 10. Practices That Value Knowledge, Not Environment or Behavior (Continued) Chapter 11. Practices That Support Hope and a Growth Mindset Chapter 12. Practices That “Lift the Veil” Chapter 13. Practices That Build “Soft Skills” Without Including Them in the Grade Chapter 14. Putting It All Together: Nick and Cathy Chapter 15. Systemwide Grading Coherence Epilogue: A Return to Mallory’s School Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Joe Feldman has worked in education at the local and national levels for over twenty years in both charter and district school contexts, and as a teacher, principal, and district administrator. He began his career as a high school English and American history teacher in Atlanta Public Schools and was the founding principal of a charter high school in Washington, DC. He has been the Director of Charter Schools for New York City Department of Education, the Director of K–12 Instruction in Union City, California, and was a Fellow to the Chief of Staff for U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley. Joe is currently CEO of Crescendo Education Group (crescendoedgroup.org), a consulting organization that partners with schools and districts to help teachers use improved and more equitable grading and assessment practices. Joe graduated from Stanford University, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and NYU Law School. He is the author of several articles on grading, assessment, and equity, and the author of Teaching Without Bells: What We Can Learn from Powerful Practice in Small Schools (Paradigm). He lives in Oakland, California with his wife and two children.

Review :
We don’t usually think of grading when talking about equity, but in Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms, Joe Feldman helps us see why grading is an integral part of an equity agenda. He shows us how we can use grading to help students become the leaders of their own learning and lift the veil on how to succeed. He reminds us that authentic assessment and transparent grading are essential parts of a culturally responsive classroom. This must-have book will help teachers learn to implement improved, equity-focused grading for impact. This book will stop educators who want to improve their practices with underserved students right in their tracks. Feldman offers an insightful invitation to teachers who dare change the ways in which we have been taught to grade students’ products. He demonstrates how our grading practices are grossly undersubstantiated and too often unquestioned, and he challenges educators to build equitable assessment tools and mechanisms to support learning and development of all students. Grading for Equity penetrates macro-level grading policies to transform micro-level teaching practices that embrace the cultural and the contextual. A must read for justice-centered educators. "Feldman is the nation’s leading expert on equitable grading. It is an honor to feature him and his insights in ACUE certification courses. The proven approaches he recommends are as relevant to professors as they are to any educator committed to grading as a tool for deeper learning." "Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms offers extensive research, practical examples, and a clear, compelling narrative about the flaws in traditional and ubiquitous grading practices and how educators, administrators, and policymakers can change them without compromising high standards, rigor, and academic integrity. Indeed, Feldman demonstrates how equitable grading practices raise standards for all students by mitigating biases, eliminating irrelevant "extra credit" points, and leveling the playing field such that what students actually know shines more brightly than metallic markers, expensive poster boards, and other trappings unavailable to all students. As a call to action for public and private schools alike, it encourages a long-overdue conversation about the role of grading in shaping teaching and learning, student experiences and outcomes, and addressing systemic barriers to educational equity, some of which have existed for generations." "The deep explanations of ′why′ in this book demonstrate how equitable grading practices can work in college and university classrooms. Grading for Equity is the seismic change we need in higher education to help us serve more students in a more meaningful way." "In the height of COVID-19, we leaned on Joe′s expertise and his book: Grading for Equity.  Now as we rebound from the pandemic, this book will equip postsecondary faculty with the theories and practices of equitable grading to prevent us from subjecting another generation of college students to the harms of traditional grading and transform both the faculty and student experience." Wow, wow, wow!!! This book hooked me as a not-to-be-missed read right from the Prologue. Joe Feldman makes a strong case for shared grading practices to overcome the inequity of traditional grading, with solid reasoning, well-chosen research evidence, and perhaps most significantly, the powerful and frequent use of teacher voice. The chapters’ organizing structure encourages thoughtful and reflective reading and will be particularly beneficial for book study within PLCs. . . . The main message of the book for me is summed up in this quote: "We teachers cannot continue to sacrifice the integrity and reliability of our grades at the altar of professional autonomy." There is growing awareness within the industry of education that traditional grading practices have become a barrier to meaningful student learning. One dilemma is that there is a lack of resources to support educators who want to adopt new grading practices that are both accurate and equitable. Joe Feldman addresses this need with his book, Grading for Equity. Joe skillfully makes a compelling argument for change and offers specific ways educators can make profound differences to their grading practices. Students become intrinsically motivated to learn when their grades accurately measure where they are in the learning process. Students who typically give up any hope of success can now approach learning with a positive growth mindset. Grading for Equity will provide clarity and tools for an individual instructor or as a book study for an entire organization. Joe Feldman peels back the curtain and shows the many flaws of our traditional grading system. His arguments are convincing, and the alternatives he proposes are both practical and powerful. Reading this book will make you rethink the way you assess students and will inspire you to enact a system that encourages revision and redemption instead of compliance and corruption.