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Title: Grading for Equity Coming To San Francisco High Schools This Fall

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/05/28/1222...

An anonymous reader shares a report: Without seeking approval of the San
Francisco Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools Maria Su plans to
unveil a new Grading for Equity plan on Tuesday that will go into effect this
fall at 14 high schools and cover over 10,000 students. The school district
is already negotiating with an outside consultant to train teachers in August
in a system that awards a passing C grade to as low as a score of 41 on a 100-
point exam. Were it not for an intrepid school board member, the drastic
change in grading with implications for college admissions and career
readiness would have gone unnoticed and unexplained. It is buried in a three-
word phrase on the last page of a PowerPoint presentation embedded in the
school board meeting's 25-page agenda. The plan comes during the last week of
the spring semester while parents are assessing the impact of over $100
million in budget reductions and deciding whether to remain in the public
schools this fall. While the school district acknowledges that parent
aversion to this grading approach is typically high and understands the need
for "vigilant communication," outreach to parents has been minimal and may be
nonexistent. The school district's Office of Equity homepage does not mention
it and a page containing the SFUSD definition of equity has not been updated
in almost three years. Grading for Equity eliminates homework or weekly tests
from being counted in a student's final semester grade. All that matters is
how the student scores on a final examination, which can be taken multiple
times. Students can be late turning in an assignment or showing up to class
or not showing up at all without it affecting their academic grade.
Currently, a student needs a 90 for an A and at least 61 for a D. Under the
San Leandro Unified School District's grading for equity system touted by the
San Francisco Unified School District and its consultant, a student with a
score as low as 80 can attain an A and as low as 21 can pass with a D.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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