Questions to Ask Your School about Grading for Equity

Resources

  1. What is the school’s current grading policy?
  2. When did it last change? What prompted the change?
  3. Does it include any of the words “accuracy, motivation, and bias-resistance”? If so, describe what each of them mean and share an example.
  4. How does the school handle it when students hand in homework late, or not at all?
  5. Can teachers change a student’s grade at the end of a semester, even if the student’s homework and test scores did not meaningfully affect the grade average?
  6. How is extra credit applied to a student’s final grade?
  7. Do teachers allow makeup tests…what is that process? How does that impact the final grade?
  8. Is a student’s home life, socio-economic status, or ethnicity taken into consideration when determining a grade? 
  9. How will you know when you have eliminated bias in grading?
  10. Are you concerned that policies like no penalty for missing/incomplete homework, no penalty for missing deadlines, and no grades for class participation will negatively impact a student’s motivation and interest in the class?
  11. What do you consider a success as it relates to grading for equity? What is the goal?
What is grading for equity?