Unintended Effects of ‘Equitable’ Grading

Reforms aimed at levelling playing fields may lead instead to lowered expectations for student performance

Since the pandemic, interest has ballooned in grading reforms purported to advance equity among students.

School districts have been rolling out grading policies that advocates say will help level the playing field for disadvantaged students. These include minimum grading requirements (for instance, giving students no less than 50 percent of possible points on any assignment); barring grading penalties for late work; altering grading scales; placing limits on the quantity of assigned homework; implementing grading rubrics; and eliminating extra credit options.

The specific measures vary from place to place, and all are promulgated with good intentions. Yet research — and usually common sense — indicate some of these policies result in lowered academic standards and expectations for students.

After Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia implemented grading reforms in 2022, teachers began pointing to a range of unintended consequences: “creating too much leniency,” “lowering the expectations we have of students,” and deemphasizing critical “work habits.” Zenaida Perez, a veteran Fairfax teacher, noted in an interview with RealClearInvestigations that at her high school “at least 30 percent of my students definitely make less effort.”