Equitable Grading Practices

Joe Feldman, who leads the Equitable Grading Project at the Crescendo Education Group,, suggests several grading practices that teachers have found to be more accurate, bias resistant and motivational than traditional forms of grading.

GREATER ACCURACY
» Grades on a 0-4 scale.

» Grades weighting more recent performance. 

» Grades based on an individual’s achievement, not the group’s work.

BIAS-RESISTANT
» Grades based on required content, not extra credit.

» Grades that exclude participation and effort.

» Grades based on summative assessments, not formative assessments.

MOTIVATIONAL
» Use of retakes and redos.

» Use of rubrics.

Feldman elaborates on these in his book Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms (Corwin).