Portland Schools Mull Banning Zeroes for Cheating and Not Doing Work: ‘Equitable grading practices’; Portland Public Schools No Longer Allowed to Issue ‘zeroes’ for Cheating or Missing Work Under New ‘equity’ Grading Guidance

Portland schools mull banning zeroes for cheating and not doing work: ‘Equitable grading practices’:

Students in Portland, Oregon may soon be able to get away with cheating and not doing assignments, if Portland Public Schools implements new “equitable grading practices.”

If adopted, the new practices will bring various changes such as new grading structures, not grading homework, not giving students failing grades for not completing their work or cheating, and not grading for “non-academic factors” such as behavior, participation, and effort.

“Not giving a student a zero when his or her work earned such a low mark actually harms that child,” Jonathan Butcher, an education fellow at the Heritage Foundation told Fox News. “You hurt a student when you pass them on from one grade to another without asking that student to show that they can complete the work he or she is assigned.”

The initiative springs from grading practices implemented by some of the district’s schools during the COVID-19 pandemic that accommodated for “inequalities in access to curriculum and instruction,” according to a handout first reported on by the Washington Free Beacon.

The handout says the initiative’s goal is to standardize practices district-wide after the non-unified implementation “led to a mosaic of grading practices across schools and across the district that is confusing to students and families.”

“Given the dismal scores in reading and math on national comparisons after the pandemic, it is sad that a school district would exercise the soft bigotry of low expectations,” Butcher said. “The district’s approach will harm students for life by not holding them responsible for their behavior and decisions.” —>READ MORE HERE

Portland Public Schools no longer allowed to issue ‘zeroes’ for cheating or missing work under new ‘equity’ grading guidance:

New “equitable grading practices,” which forbid teachers from giving “zeroes” to students who cheat or fail to turn in homework, are being tested in Portland Public Schools.

The Washington Free Beacon reports that this new grading system strives to overcome “racial disparities” and “inequities” in grading and instruction, which the district first started to consider during the pandemic. According to the outlet, the guidelines are expected to be fully implemented by 2025.

The Portland Public Schools Equitable Grading guidance states that teachers are not allowed to issue “zeroes” to students who have either cheated or have missed assignments. Students are not to be penalized for late work and must be allowed to retake tests and redo assignments until they can demonstrate proficiency, according to the guidance.

In addition, teachers are not to include attendance and participation towards grades and are to decide a student’s grade based on an equitable mean.

Portland Public Schools states in the guidance handout that “Historical data shows that there are racial disparities in our pass/fail rate in multiple subjects in both middle grades and high school. During the pandemic, we adjusted our grading to accommodate for some of the inequities in access to curriculum and instruction.” —>READ MORE HERE

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